The Global Reality of Bombing in Civilian Life, Part 1

As our Oceania series comes to an end, I’m introducing a new theme for September: this month I will review all non-military bombing attacks that take place across the globe. While our news headlines focus on Iraq and more recently incidents in South Asia, the truth is that bombings of non-military targets have become a daily event for many regions across the globe, not just Baghdad.

Every few days, I will be posting a summary of all bombings around the globe. Of course, the numbers of deaths may be inaccurate, and I can only pass on the bombings that appear in worldwide news stories published in English, but I hope this will shed some light on just how widespread and regular these tragic events are.

Non-military bombing attacks, 1 September 2008 – 5 September 2008

• 9/1 – Kashmir Region, India: 15 injured. Eleven people, including four soldiers, were wounded on Saturday when suspected militants detonated a car bomb in Srinagar, police said.

• 9/1 – Prachin Buri, Thailand: 1 injured. A bomb exploded in in front of a police box, injuring one woman motorcyclist.

• 9/1 – Bouira, Algeria: 4 injured. A remote-controled bomb exploded on a goods train. Some 12 coaches were destroyed and 50 metres of the railway were damaged. The destroyed coaches were carrying 40,000 litres of fuel. Residents were panicked by the blast sound.

• 9/1 – Bajur, Pakistan: 5 dead. A suicide car bomber rammed into a security forces’ vehicle in Pakistan’s Bajur region, killing three soldiers and two civilians. The region is a known hub of pro Taliban and al-Qaeda activity and borders Afghanistan’s volatile Kunar Province.

• 9/2 – Kathmandu, Nepal: 2 dead, 11 injured. The first blasts that killed civilians since April 2006, this attack has been linked to minority seperatists, not the Maoists, which are now part of the civilian government.

• 9/2 – Fuenmayor, Spain: No deaths or injuries. A small bomb has exploded on a road in Spain’s Rioja region, causing minor damage. Police neutralized four other devices; 9/2 was the last day of school holidays in Spain and traffic is usually particularly heavy as Spaniards make their way home. ETA took credit for the blast.

• 9/2 – Belfast, Ireland: 1 injured. A seven-year-old boy suffered cuts and bruising after a pipe bomb exploded outside his Belfast home. Three others in the house were unhurt.

• 9/2 – Wana, Pakistan: 2 killed, 11 injured. A remote-controlled bomb exploded in a shop.

• 9/2 – Hat Gyi dam, Burma, 1 dead, others injured.: A Thai worker for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand at the construction site of the Hat Gyi dam in Burma died in a grenade attack on the Egat camp where some 40 workers lived.

• 9/2 – Guwahati, India, 1 dead, 30 injured.: A powerful explosion at a busy market in India’s revolt-hit northeast was claimed by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland since 1979.

• 9/3 – Mayo, Thailand: No deaths or injuries. Military officers providing security for teachers in southern Thailand were ambushed by bombs placed to cause maximum damage, but due to its inefficiency, failed to cause any injuries or deaths.

• 9/3 – Baghdad, Iraq: 1 killed, 3 injured. A boy was killed and three of his brothers were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their house in the town of Dujail, 90 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, the Joint Iraqi-U.S. Coordination Centre said.

• 9/3 – Ramadi, Iraq: 2 dead, 13 injured. A suicide car bomber targeting a police checkpoint killed two policemen and wounded 13 others.

• 9/3 – Baghdad, Iraq: 4 killed, 8 injured. At least two people were killed and two others wounded when a parked car bomb exploded in central Baghdad, police said.

• 9/3 – Kirkuk, Iraq: 6 injured. Two policemen and four civilians were wounded in roadside bombs.

• 9/3 – Northern Sri Lanka: 12 killed. Civilians were killed due to clashes between government troops and Tamil Tigers in northern Sri Lanka. The Army said the dead were the victims of a roadside bomb, the rebels charged the military with responsibility.

• 9/4 – Rawalpindi, Pakistan: at least 29 dead, at least 66 injured. The bomb exploded inside a bus carrying government employees near the Qasim market in an army administered area. President Musharraf has a home in the city, and it is also the army’s headquarters.

• 9/4 – Eastern Afghanistan: 7 dead. Seven Afghan security forces were killed when their vehicle was struck by a mine in an eastern province bordering Pakistan.

• 9/4 – Zamboanga City, Philippines: no deaths or injuries. Two homemade bombs exploded with no injuries.

• 9/4 – New York, USA: no deaths or injuries. A morning blast outside a theater damaged the windshield of a van parked in front of the building, but there were no injuries.

• 9/4 – Co Down, Ireland: no deaths or injuries. Catholic church was damaged by a bomb attack. Parish Priest Colm McBride claimed whoever was responsible must have been working alone: “It’s the work of a single individual who doesn’t represent anybody except their own disturbed views. Relationships here are very, very good.”

• 9/4 – Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan: 2 dead. A suspected suicide attacker exploded a bomb-packed truck at a police post in northern Afghanistan Tuesday, killing two Afghan policemen.

• 9/4 – Beiji, Iraq: 5 dead. Five Iraqi soldiers were killed on Tuesday by a roadside bombing near their patrol in the vicinity of the town of Beiji in Salahudin province, north of Baghdad.

• 9/5 – Baghdad, Iraq: 11 dead, 23 injured. A bomb attack in Sadr City was one of the deadliest in Baghdad in weeks. Iraqi police said the bomb exploded at a square where minibuses gather to pick up and drop off passengers.

This coverage does not include (and future posts will not include) defused bombs, foiled bomb plots, or bomb threats. But to give you an idea in this post, the following plots or threats were made during the same period covered above: Nigeria, Denmark, Pennsylvania, Florida, Delaware, California, Canada, Somalia, New Jersey, the UK, India, Spain, and probably elsewhere.