Mostar car bombing
| Mostar car bombing | |
|---|---|
 Mostar
Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
|
|
| Location | Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Coordinates | 43°20′52.18″N 17°48′07.84″E / 43.3478278°N 17.8021778°ECoordinates: 43°20′52.18″N 17°48′07.84″E / 43.3478278°N 17.8021778°E |
| Date | 18 September 1997 23:40 (CEST) |
| Target | Croat civilians and police |
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Attack type
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Car bomb attack |
| Deaths | None |
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Non-fatal injuries
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29 |
| Perpetrators | al-Qaeda |
| Motive | Religious motives, retribution against the Croatian Defence Council |
A car bomb exploded in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 18 September 1997, injuring 29 people and destroying or damaging 120 apartments, as well as 120 vehicles. The attack was carried out by al-Qaeda-connected Islamic extremists, and targeted Croat civilians and policemen as retribution against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), which had fought Muslim forces for control of the city during the Croat–Bosniak War. It remains the most serious terrorist attack in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On 18 September 1997, a car bomb exploded on Splitska Street, in front of a police station in majority-Croat western Mostar. During the Bosnian War, the building had housed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. Twenty-nine people were either seriously or lightly wounded in the attack, including three police officers. The explosion created a crater 240 centimetres (94 in) wide and 85 centimetres (33 in) deep. In total, 120 apartments sustained some level of damage, of which 56 were completely destroyed. About 120 vehicles were also affected, including 46 that were completely destroyed.
The attack was organized by Ahmad Zuhair Handala, originally from Sudan, with his associates, Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad from Bahrain,Nebil Ali Hil, nicknamed Abu Yemen, Saleh Nedal and Vlado Popovski from the Republic of Macedonia. Handala and his associates were all linked to Al-Qaeda. Prior to the attack, Handala and Ali Hamad visited Mostar on 11 September, a week before the attack, in order to research the situation and confirm where they would plant the car bomb several days later. The very same day, Saleh Nedal was issued a Bosnian passport by the Ministry of the Interior.
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Wikipedia