On 21 April 2004, a series of large bomb explosions ripped through Basra, Iraq. Initial casualty estimates put the dead at 68 with hundreds injured. In reality, 74 people died.

Three separate devices exploded outside police stations in central Basra; two in the Ashar area and one in the Old City. A fourth, separate attack also occurred around the same time in the town of Zubair. In the fourth attack, two car bombs exploded which killed three Iraqis and wounded five British soldiers of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, one seriously. In Basra, British forces trying to aid casualties were stoned by crowds, who blamed the Coalition, justifiably or not, for not doing enough to protect Iraqi citizens from such attacks.

External Links

• Scores killed in Iraqi bombings (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3644733.stm) April 21, 2004 [BBC]
• 5 Iraqis arrested for Basra bombings (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/24/iraq/main613530.shtml) April 24, 2004 [CBS]