Canal Hotel bombing

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Canal Hotel Bombing
Canal Hotel Bombing
Location Baghdad, Iraq
Date August 19, 2003
16:45 – (GMT +3)
Attack type truck bomb
Deaths 22 plus a suicide bomber
Injured 100+
Perpetrator(s) Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad

The Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, in the afternoon of August 19, 2003, killed at least 22 people, including Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and wounded over 100. The blast targeted the United Nations (UN), which had used the hotel as its headquarters in Iraq since 1991. The attack was followed by a second bombing a month later which resulted in a withdrawal of the 600 UN staff members in Iraq.[1] These events were to have a profound and lasting impact on the UN's security practices globally.[2][3]

Contents

[edit] The bombing

The explosion occurred while Martin Barber, director of the UN's Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was holding a press conference. The explosion damaged a spinal cord treatment center at the hospital nearby and the resulting shockwave was felt a mile away.

The blast was caused by a suicide bomber driving a truck bomb. The vehicle has been identified as a large 2002 flatbed Kamaz (manufactured in Eastern Europe; part of the former Iraqi establishment's fleet). Investigators in Iraq suspected the bomb was made from old munitions, including a single 500-pound bomb, possibly from Iraq's pre-war arsenal. Investigators said that such items would not require any "great degree of sophistication" to assemble.

There is speculation that Sérgio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, may have been specifically targeted in the blast due to the proximity of the explosion to his office. The UN building may have been chosen due to its limited security. Another motive to the bombing could be the UN imposed sanctions on Iraq[citation needed]. The OCHA Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) for Iraq (UNOHCI) was located directly beneath Vieira de Mello’s office and suffered a direct hit. Of the eight staff and one visitor in the office at the time, one managed to escape.[4]

[edit] Second bomb

The bombing was followed on September 22, 2003, by another car bomb outside the Canal Hotel. The blast killed the bomber and an Iraqi policeman and wounded 19 others, including UN workers. The second attack led to the withdrawal of some 600 UN international staff from Baghdad, along with employees of other aid agencies. In August 2004, de Mello's replacement, Ashraf Qazi, arrived in Baghdad along with a small number of staff.[5]

[edit] List of victims

Name Age Nationality Position
Sérgio Vieira de Mello 55 Flag of Brazil Brazil Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Iraq
Nadia Younes 57 Flag of Egypt Egypt Chief of Staff for Vieira de Mello
Fiona Watson 35 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Member of Vieira de Mello's staff
Jean-Sélim Kanaan 33 Flag of Egypt Egypt

Flag of Italy Italy Flag of France France

 Member of Vieira de Mello's staff
Richard 'Rick' Hooper 40 Flag of the United States United States Senior advisor to the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Political Affairs
Chris Klein-Beekman 32 Flag of Canada Canada UN Children's Fund's program coordinator
Reham Al-Farra 29 Flag of Jordan Jordan Department of Public Information, Deputy Spokesperson
Martha Teas 47 Flag of the United States United States UNOHCI manager
Leen Assad Al-Qadi 32 Flag of Iraq Iraq UNOHCI Information Assistant
Ranillo Buenaventura 47 Flag of the Philippines Philippines UNOHCI
Reza Hosseini 43 Flag of Iran Iran UNOHCI
Ihsan Taha Husein 26 Flag of Iraq Iraq UNOHCI Driver
Basim Mahmoud Utaiwi 40 Flag of Iraq Iraq UNOHCI Security guard
Raid Shaker Mustafa Al-Mahdawi 32 Flag of Iraq Iraq United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC)
Gillian Clark 47 Flag of Canada Canada Christian Children's Fund
Arthur Helton 54 Flag of the United States United States Director of peace and conflict studies at the US Council on Foreign Relations
Dr. Alya Souza 54 Flag of Iraq Iraq World Bank
Manuel Martín-Oar 56 Flag of Spain Spain Naval captain, assistant to the Spanish special ambassador to Iraq
Khidir Saleem Sahir Flag of Iraq Iraq Civilian
Saad Hermiz Abona 45 Flag of Iraq Iraq Working for a UN subcontractor
Omar Kahtan Mohamed Al-Orfali 34 Flag of Iraq Iraq Driver

Marilyn Manuel, Philippines, a member of Vieira de Mello's staff originally listed as dead, stunned her family when she called home, not knowing they had been told she was dead.[6] The cause of this was that Ms. Manuel had been evacuated to an Iraqi hospital which did not notify the UN of her presence. Consequently, she was listed as missing and presumed dead in the collapsed section of the building.[7]

[edit] Suspects

United Nations members prepare to load flag-draped metal transfer cases carrying the remains of bombing victims from the UN Office of Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.
United Nations members prepare to load flag-draped metal transfer cases carrying the remains of bombing victims from the UN Office of Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.
“ We destroyed the U.N. building, the protectors of Jews, the friends of the oppressors and aggressors. The U.N. has recognized the Americans as the masters of Iraq. Before that, they gave Palestine as a gift to the Jews so they can rape the land and humiliate our people. Do not forget Bosnia, Kashmir, Afghanistan and Chechnya. ”

—PBS Frontline[8], Zarqawi

As of 2006, the prime suspects in this bombing are followers of the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had purportedly claimed responsibility for this attack. In January 2005, a top bombmaker for Zarqawi's group, Abu Omar al-Kurdi, was captured by the coalition and claimed his associates made the bomb used in this attack. On December 16, 2005, Iraqi authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mullah Halgurd al-Khabir, a commander of Ansar al-Sunna, in connection with the attack.[9] In an audio tape quoted here, Zarqawi motivated the bombing of the UN building. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera identified the suicide bomber as Algerian national Fahdal Nassim.[10] Other suspects included Baathists, militant Sunni and Shiite groups, organized crime, and tribal elements. Blame was initially thought to lie with Ansar al-Islam, which was thought at the time to be Zarqawi's group. An otherwise unknown group called the "Armed Vanguards of the Second Mohammed Army" claimed they were responsible for the attack.[11]

[edit] Responses

The suicide bombing of the United Nations in Baghdad drew overwhelming condemnation. Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, commented that the bombing would not stop the organization's efforts to rebuild Iraq, and said: "Nothing can excuse this act of unprovoked and murderous violence against men and women who went to Iraq for one purpose only: to help the Iraqi people recover their independence and sovereignty, and to rebuild their country as fast as possible, under leaders of their own choosing."

[edit] See also

Iraq Portal
Iraq War Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC News Mixed feelings over UN Iraq role
  2. ^ UN News Centre Press Briefing by Manoel de Almeida e Silva, Spokesman for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Afghanistan
  3. ^ UN News Centre UN wrestling with security questions one year after Baghdad bombing
  4. ^ OCHA bulletin tribute.
  5. ^ News 24 UN team in Iraq for rebuilding
  6. ^ Philipinenews.com Marilyn Manuel comes home
  7. ^ The Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of UN Personnel in Iraq
  8. ^ Frontline Iraqi insurgency
  9. ^ Global Security.org Arrest warrant
  10. ^ Global Terrorism Analysis
  11. ^ Council on Foreign Relations The UN Attack

[edit] External links

 
Major terrorist attacks of the Iraq War
Attacks with 100+ fatalities in bold:
1st Baghdad – 2nd Baghdad – Najaf – 3rd Baghdad – Nasiriyah – 1st Karbala – Irbil – Ashoura – Basra – Mosul – 4th Baghdad – Karbala-Najaf – Baqubah – Kufa – FOB Marez – 1st Al Hillah – Musayyib – 5th Baghdad – 6th Baghdad – 1st Balad – Khanaqin – Karbala-Ramadi – 1st Samarra – 7th Baghdad – 8th Baghdad – 9th Baghdad – 10th Baghdad – 11th Baghdad – 12th Baghdad – 13th Baghdad – 14th Baghdad – 2nd Al Hillah – Tal Afar – 15th Baghdad – 16th Baghdad – 2nd Karbala – 17th Baghdad – 3rd Karbala – Makhmour – Abu Sayda – 2nd Samarra – 18th Baghdad – Amirli – Kirkuk – 19th Baghdad – 20th Baghdad – Qahtaniya – 21st Baghdad – 2nd Balad – 4th Karbala

Coordinates: 33°20′01″N, 44°28′02″E

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