The 2003 Karbala bombings consisted of four

suicide attack A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

s on the

Coalition A coalition is 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, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

military

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, south of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

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

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English 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 The Iraqi Police (IP) is the uniformed police force responsible for the enforcement of civil law in Iraq. Its organisation, structure and recruitment were guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority after the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, ...

station where U.S.

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

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

The attacks

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n guards at the perimeter of their forward base at the University of Karbala shot the suicide bomber 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 soldiers killed were Major Georgi Kachorin, Lieutenant Nikolai Saruev and Officer Candidates Ivan Indjov, Anton Petrov and Svilen Kirov. The

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Army (), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in ...

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 supportin ...

, Nikola Kolev, said they expected attacks because Karbala had been suspiciously peaceful. In the attack on the Thai Humanitarian Assistance Task Force 976 Thai-Iraq 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 police officers and five

civilians A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civilian enga ...

were killed. Five American soldiers were among the wounded.

Reaction

After the bombings, UN Security Council President Stefan Tafrov condemned the attacks. In Bulgaria, questions were raised by the country's participation in Iraq and the salaries soldiers received for their international service in a warzone. Bulgaria would continue to support their allies efforts in Iraq until 2008, at a loss of 13 soldiers.

References

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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 2003 building bombings Bulgaria in the Iraq War Thailand in the Iraq War Mass murder in 2003 Suicide car and truck bombings in Iraq Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2003 Karbala in the Iraq War Attacks on military installations in 2003 December 2003 in Iraq Residential building bombings in Iraq Bombings in the Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011) December 2003 crimes in Asia Attacks on police stations in 2003 Attacks on police stations in Iraq Car and truck bombings in 2003 Suicide bombings in 2003 Improvised explosive device bombings in Karbala Attacks on barracks in Iraq

The attacks

Reaction

See also

References

External links