Al-Aimmah Bridge

Al-Aimmah Bridge
Al-Aimmah Bridge
Coordinates	33°22′30″N 44°21′20″E / 33.375122°N 44.355540°E / 33.375122; 44.355540Coordinates: 33°22′30″N 44°21′20″E / 33.375122°N 44.355540°E / 33.375122; 44.355540
Crosses	Tigris River
Locale	Baghdad
Maintained by	Iraq Ministry of Housing and Construction
Characteristics
Design	cable-stayed
Total length	370 metres (1,210 ft)
Width	21 metres (69 ft)
Height	55.7 metres (183 ft)
Longest span	182.5 metres (599 ft)
No. of spans	4
History
Construction start	1980
Construction end	1983

Jisr al-'Ā'immah (Arabic: جسر الأئمة‎‎, Al-Aimmah Bridge, literally "Bridge of the Imams") is a bridge over the river Tigris in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The bridge links the areas of A'dhamiyyah, which is a majority Sunni Arab area, from its east bank, with the Shi'te area of Kadhimiyyah on its west. A'dhamiyyah is where the Mosque of Sunni Imam Abu Hanifah is located. Kadhimiyyah is where the Mosque of Shi'ite Imams Musa al-Kadhim and Muhammad at-Taqi is located.

It was the place of a deadly stampede on the 31st of August 2005, when hundreds of Shiite pilgrims were crushed. The stampede caused the railings to give way, allowing hundreds to fall to their deaths in the river. There was also a Sunni casualty, that is Othman Ali Abdul-Hafez, who had drowned after trying to save people in the water. The bridge had been closed for the three months prior to the incident.

Although Adhamiyah has been the site of many clashes between Iraqi insurgents and US forces as well as tensions between Shia security forces and Sunni residents, in September 2005, the residents of Adhamiyah were credited with saving hundreds of Shia lives. Shia pilgrims who were caught in a stampede on Al-Aimmah bridge, coming from the opposing shore of Kadhimiyah, began jumping from the bridge in an attempt to escape the crush, only to face drowning in the Tigris below. Adhamiyah residents dived into the waters, pulling hundreds of Shias to the shore, where their fellow residents transported them to hospitals and mosques, in some cases using the mattresses from their own beds as makeshift stretchers.