Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2003 explained

In 2003, there were 25 suicide bombings executed by 32 attackers.

February

• February 26: A suspected Ansar al-Islam member detonated a suicide vest at a checkpoint in northern Iraq, killing three.^[1]

March

• March 22: Three people were killed, including an Australian cameraman, and nine others injured when a suicide car bomber blew himself up at a checkpoint in Sayed Sadiq.^[2]
• March 29: Iraqi soldier Ali Hammadi al-Namani killed four US soldiers in a suicide car bombing near Najaf.^[3]

April

• April 3: A female suicide bomber killed three coalition soldiers at a checkpoint north-west of Baghdad. Her apparent accomplice, a pregnant woman who was also killed in the attack, exited the vehicle prior to the explosion and began screaming in fear. It is unclear if she was attempting to flee, or trying to draw the coalition troops towards her vehicle.^[4]
• April 10: A suicide bomber walked up to a military checkpoint in central Baghdad and blew himself up, wounding four U.S. Marines.^[5]

August

• August 7: Jordanian embassy bombing in Baghdad: A bus bombing outside the embassy killed 17 people.^[6]
• August 19: Canal Hotel bombing: in Baghdad, killed 22 people (including the top United Nations representative Sergio Vieira de Mello) and wounds over 100.
• August 29: Imam Ali mosque bombing: One or two car bombs, possibly detonated by suicide bombers, exploded outside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf. Between 85 and 125 people were killed, including the leader of the nation's Shia community Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim.^{[7] [8] [9]}

September

• September 9: A suicide car bomber targeted the US intelligence headquarters in the northern city of Irbil, killing three people and injuring 41.^[10]
• September 22: A suicide car bomber blew himself up near the UN HQ in Baghdad, killing a security guard and wounding 19 people.^[11]

October

• October 9: In the first attack on an Iraqi police station, a suicide car bomb exploded outside a station in Sadr City, killing at least eight people.^{[7] [12]}
• October 12: One or two suicide car bombs near the Baghdad Hotel killed six Iraqis and wounded more than 30 others, including three US soldiers.^{[13] [14] [15]}
• October 14: A suicide car bomb exploded outside the Turkish embassy in Baghdad, wounding two security guards.^[7]
• October 16: A would-be suicide vehicle bomber was killed by security services before he could attack the Interior Ministry building in Irbil.^[16]
• October 27: 2003 Baghdad bombings: Four or five suicide car bombings rocked Baghdad, killing 30-40 people including, two US soldiers. The deadliest attack was on the HQ of the International Committee of the Red Cross, where a suicide bomber driving an ambulance killed 12 people and wounded 20. The other attacks targeted Iraqi police stations.^{[7] [17]}
• October 28: A suicide car bomber blew himself up 100 yards from a police station in Fallujah, killing four people.^{[18] [19]}

November

• November 12: 2003 Nasiriyah bombing: A suicide car bombing in the southern town of Nasiriyah killed about 30 people. The target was an Italian military base; 19 of the dead were Italians.^{[7] [20] [21]}
• November 20: A suicide truck bomb exploded outside the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a US-allied Kurdish political party in Kirkuk. Four people were killed and 30 wounded.^[7]
• November 22: Two suicide car bombers struck police stations in the towns of Khan Bani Saad and Baquba almost simultaneously, killing at least 18 people and leaving over 30 wounded.^[22]
• November 29: Seven Spanish agents of the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia were killed in an ambush at Latifiya.^[23]

December

• December 9: Suicide bombers, one in a car and another on foot, blew themselves up at the gates of two US military bases, wounding 61 American soldiers.^[7]
• December 10: Three suicide bombers attacked the HQ of the 82nd Airborne Division in Ramadi. One US soldier died and 14 others were wounded.^[7]
• December 14: Hours before the US military announced that they captured Saddam Hussein, a suspected suicide car bomber killed 16 police officers and two civilians outside a police station in Khaldiya, 60 miles west of Baghdad.^{[24] [25]}
• December 15: On the northern outskirts of the Iraqi capital, a suicide bomber driving a four-wheel-drive taxi killed eight policemen at their station in Husainiyah. Just hours before, in the Ameriyah neighbourhood of the city, eight policemen were injured by another suicide car bomber.^[26]
• December 17: A suicide truck bomber, who was trying to attack a police station in the al-Bayaa district of Baghdad, collided with a bus at an intersection killing at least ten people and wounding 20.^[27]
• December 18: A VBIED attacked a civilian convoy on MSR Hershey at approximately 0700 hours as they were leaving their encampment to go to work near Bayji. A South African armored personnel carrier was destroyed in the process. Several injuries, but no US personnel - military or civilian - were killed.
• December 24: A suicide bombing killed four and wounds over 100 at the Interior Ministry offices in Arbil.^[25]
• December 27: 2003 Karbala bombings: Five Bulgarian soldiers and two Thai soldiers were among 19 people killed and 18 injured in a coordinated attack on coalition military bases in Karbala. Four suicide car bombers struck a Bulgarian base, a compound containing the city hall and police HQ, and a multinational logistics base run by Polish, Thai, and American soldiers.^{[7] [28]}
• December 31: Five Iraqis are killed and at least 21 people were injured by a car bomb which targeted a restaurant popular with Westerners in Baghdad. At least three buildings were destroyed by the explosion.^[29]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Incident profile. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030756/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=15291. 2007-09-30. MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base.
2. Web site: Incident profile. https://web.archive.org/web/20050226052644/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=20642. 2005-02-26. MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base.
3. News: Iraq warns of more suicide missions . BBC News . March 29, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . December 3, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121203203217/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2899387.stm . live .
4. News: Iraq says women killed troops . BBC News . April 5, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . June 20, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090620190930/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2917107.stm . live .
5. News: Coalition makes key advances in northern Iraq . CNN . April 9, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . September 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200915005851/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/10/sprj.irq.war.main/index.html . live .
6. News: 2003-08-08 . Jordan embassy blast inquiry . en-GB . 2024-01-20 . 2003-10-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20031011053833/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3134145.stm . live .
7. Web site: Terror strikes blamed on al-Zarqawi in Iraq . 2023-05-10 . NBC News . en . 2023-01-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230120215431/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5437742 . live .
8. News: Iraq Shias massacred on holy day . BBC News . March 2, 2004 . May 8, 2010 . November 21, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051121065647/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/3524589.stm . live .
9. News: Najaf bombing kills Shiite leader, followers say . CNN . August 29, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . December 19, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081219104442/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/08/29/sprj.irq.najaf/index.html . live .
10. News: Three killed in Irbil suicide bombing . The Guardian . London . September 10, 2003 . May 8, 2010.
11. News: Blast Near Baghdad U.N. Compound . CBS News . September 22, 2003 . February 3, 2009 . October 25, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121025082132/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/22/iraq/main574491.shtml . live .
12. Web site: Incident report. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035343/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=18696. 2007-09-30. MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base.
13. News: Suicide bombing near hotel kills six Iraqis . CNN . October 12, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . October 19, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121019010423/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/10/12/sprj.irq.main/index.html . live .
14. News: Twin bombs kill 6 in Iraq . Deseret News (Salt Lake City) . October 13, 2003 . Charles J. . Hanley.
15. Web site: 2005-02-25 . MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base . 2023-05-10 . 2005-02-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050225223502/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=18701 . bot: unknown .
16. Web site: 2007-09-30 . MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base . 2023-05-10 . 2007-09-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930041321/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=18703 . bot: unknown .
17. News: Bloody day in Baghdad, dozens killed in car bombs - Oct. 27, 2003. CNN. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080515200738/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/10/27/sprj.irq.main/index.html. May 15, 2008.
18. Web site: 2007-09-30 . MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base . 2023-05-10 . 2007-09-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930024238/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=18707 . bot: unknown .
19. News: Car bomb kills at least four in Fallujah; eight new blasts heard in . Deseret News (Salt Lake City) . October 28, 2003 . Tarek . Al-Issawi.
20. News: Suicide blast wrecks Italian base . BBC News . November 12, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . January 5, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120105232926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3263087.stm . live .
21. News: Italy brings home Iraq war dead . BBC News . November 15, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . May 12, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060512105619/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3272589.stm . live .
22. Web site: 2007-09-30 . MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base . 2023-05-10 . 2007-09-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930032635/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=17524 . bot: unknown .
23. News: González . Miguel . December 3, 2013 . Ambush at Latifiya . . October 23, 2018 . October 23, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160513/https://elpais.com/elpais/2013/12/03/inenglish/1386078263_136110.html . live .
24. News: Saddam not talking so far - Dec. 14, 2003. CNN. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080614080609/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/14/sprj.nirq.saddam.debrief.ap/index.html. June 14, 2008.
25. News: A year of deadly attacks in Iraq . The Sydney Morning Herald . July 20, 2004 . November 9, 2009 . April 17, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090417063643/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/19/1090089102112.html . live .
26. News: Archived . December 15, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181215175226/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20031216/ai_n12716897 . www.findarticles.com.
27. Web site: 2007-09-30 . MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base . 2023-05-10 . 2007-09-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035156/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=17736 . bot: unknown .
28. News: Karbala attacks kill 12, wound dozens . CNN . December 27, 2003 . May 8, 2010 . April 20, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080420165317/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/27/sprj.irq.main/index.html . live .
29. News: Fatal car bomb blows up Baghdad restaurant. 12 April 2018. CNN. December 31, 2003. 13 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180413043808/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/31/sprj.irq.main/. live.