The Casablanca Attacks were a series of suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. They were the deadliest terrorist attacks in that country's history. The attacks occurred four days after the Riyadh Compound Bombings that targeted Western compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 26 people. A suicide bombing is a bomb attack on people or property, committed by a person who knows the explosion will cause his or her own death (see suicide, suicide weapons). ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Casablanca from space Hassan II Mosque A view on the Boulevard de Paris in central Casablanca Parc de la Ligue Arabe Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, transliterated ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ) is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. ... Look up terrorist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Riyadh Compound Bombings took place on May 12, 2003, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ... Riyadh from space, April 1994 Ministry of the Interior Faisaliah Centre King Fahad Int. ...

The Bombings

The attacks were carried out by 14 members of the North African terrorist group Salafia Jihadia. Their plan was to hit Western and Jewish targets in the bustling tourist city of Casablanca, and may have been inspired to carry out their attacks sooner than expected after 3 Western compounds were bombed in Saudi Arabia on May 12. North Africa is a region generally considered to include: Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Sudan Tunisia Western Sahara The Azores, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa. ... Western can refer to: A Western blot is a method in molecular biology to detect a certain protein in a sample by using antibody specific to that protein. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ...

The 14 bombers, most between 20 and 24 years old, struck several places on the night of the 16th. In the deadliest attack, bombers wearing explosives knifed a guard at the "Casa de Espana" restaurant, a Spanish-owned eatery in the city. They blew themselves up inside the building, killing 20 people, many of them dining and playing bingo. Bingo Bingo is a game of chance where randomly-selected numbers are drawn and players match those numbers to those printed on cards. ...

The five-star Hotel Farah was bombed next, killing a guard and a porter. Another bomber killed three passerby as he attempted to bomb a Jewish cemetery. He was 150 yards away from the cemetery and likely lost, so he blew up by a fountain. Two additional bombers attacked a Jewish community center, but killed no one because the building was closed and empty. It would have been packed the next day. Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery or graveyard is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ...

Another bomber attacked a Jewish-owned Italian restaurant, and another blew up near the Belgian consulate which is located meters away from the restaurant, killing two police officers.

In all, 12 bombers died, along with 33 civilians. Two bombers were arrested before they could carry out attacks. More than 100 people were injured. Eight of the dead were Europeans (three Spaniards among them) and the rest were Moroccan, angering many Muslims.

Investigators concluded that inept planning and mistakes by the bombers probably saved dozens of lives.

Response

The motive behind the bombings was probably the fact that Morocco had a history of good relationship with Jews; another possible motive was the US Invasion of Iraq. For other uses of the term, see Iraq war (disambiguation) The 2003 invasion of Iraq (also called the 2nd or 3rd Persian Gulf War) began on March 20, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq without the explicit backing of the United...

World leaders condemned the attacks, coming on the heels of the Riyadh bombings. Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, toured the bombing sites and was cheered by crowds of people. Moroccan authorities said in May 2004 that they had arrested 2,000 people in connection with the attacks, and began to put them on trial. US President George W. Bush talks with His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco in the Oval Office Tuesday, 23 April 2002 His Majesty King Mohammed VI (Arabic: الملك محمد السادس للمغرب) a. ... 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths in May • 28 Gerald Anthony • 27 Umberto Agnelli • 22 Richard Biggs • 20 Len Murray • 17 Tony Randall • 17 Ezzedine Salim • 9 Alan King • 9 Akhmad Kadyrov • 8(?) Nick Berg • 7 Waldemar Milewicz Other recent deaths Ongoing...

Salafia Jihadia, an offshoot of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group and believed to have al-Qaeda links, is suspected of sending out the bombers. Evidence suggests that a terror leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may have played a role. On March 19, 2004, Belgian police arrested a suspect wanted by the Moroccan government in connection with the bombings. In December 2004, a man named Hasan al-Haski, charged in the 2004 Mardid bombings, was questioned over his links to the Casablanca bombings and was believed to have helped plan them. The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain, or GICM) is an extremist Islamic fundamentalist group operating in North Africa and suspected of having links with al-Qaida. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in one of eight photos from Rewards for Justice, all undated. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ← - 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault • 19 Renata Tebaldi • 16... The scene of one of the Madrid bombings. ...

External Links

• Terror blasts rock Casablanca - BBC