The 2003 Karbala bombings consisted of four

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

s on the

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

military

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, south of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

on December 27, 2003. The attackers targeted two coalition bases and a

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Iraqi police station where U.S.

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

were stationed. All of the attacks occurred within a 20-minute span.

The attacks

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n guards at the perimeter of their forward base at the

University of Karbala The University of Kerbala (UoK) is a university located in the city of Kerbala, Iraq. The university was founded in 2002. The university has an impact role in the academic research. It is located in a very popular city, Kerbala. Colleges *Colleg ...

shot the

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

as the gasoline tanker bore down on the front entrance. Nevertheless, the bomb exploded about from the base's main building, killing four Bulgarian soldiers and wounding 27 others, one of whom died from his injuries on the next day. The

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

, Nikola Kolev, said that they expected attacks because Karbala had been suspiciously peaceful. In the attack on the

Thai Humanitarian Assistance Task Force 976 Thai-Iraq The Task Force 976 Thai-Iraq ( th, กองกำลังเฉพาะกิจ 976 ไทย-อิรัก) (กกล.ฉก ๙๗๖) was a military unit of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, it was a part of the Multi-National Force – Ira ...

camp the bomber killed two Thai soldiers and wounded five others when he rammed his vehicle into the walls. The Thais were confident enough about their security that they planned to send 200 Thai civilians to visit their troops. In the double attack on the police station seven Iraqi policemen and five

civilians Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

were killed. Five American soldiers were among the wounded.

References

External links

Bulgarian soldiers refuse duty in Iraq after deadly attackPolice station and 2 bases hit in southern city
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karbala Bombings, 2003 2003 murders in Iraq Explosions in 2003 21st-century mass murder in Iraq Military history of Bulgaria Military history of Thailand Mass murder in 2003 Suicide car and truck bombings in Iraq Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2003 Karbala Attacks on military installations in the 2000s December 2003 events in Asia Building bombings in Iraq

The attacks

See also

References

External links