1995 Rijeka bombing

Coordinates: 45°18′58″N 14°24′58″E / 45.316°N 14.416°E / 45.316; 14.416

The 1995 Rijeka bombing occurred on 20 October 1995 in Rijeka, Croatia, when an Islamic terrorist organization attempted to destroy a police station by driving a car with a bomb into the wall of the building. Twenty-seven employees in the police station and two bystanders on the street were injured, although the only person killed was the attacker.

In the last days of the Bosnian War, the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), a Bosnian Croat military force, captured Talaat Fouad Qasim when he attempted to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina. Qasim, an important member of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, was soon transferred to Egypt with the active help of Croatia. Because of that and because Croatia had de facto controlled the Croatian Defence Council, the military organization which had captured Talaat Fouad Qasim, a decision was made to commit a terrorist attack in Croatia.

At 11:21 a.m. Central European Time, a Fiat 131 Mirafiori entered the parking lot of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County police headquarters. Due to the 90-degree turn needed to enter the lot, the vehicle moved slowly. Near the entrance, the driver did not park in the parking spaces for civilians, but instead started to accelerate towards the wall at the end of the parking lot. Due to the low security measures, this incident was not noticed before the attack itself took place. After 15-20 meters, passing 8-10 available parking spaces in the small lot, the Fiat crashed into the stairs leading to the police station and exploded. The time of explosion was recorded as 11:22 a.m. local time (10:22 UTC). Subsequently, a police investigation found out the car was loaded with 70 kg (150 lb) of highly-explosive TNT. The police also found a part of a Canadian passport inside the remains of the attacker's car. The next day, representatives of the al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya terrorist organization from Egypt claimed responsibility for the attack, requesting extradition of Qasim.