Suicide Bombing in Morroco

On Friday, May 17, 2003, suicide bombers hit five locations almost simultaneously about at 9:20 p.m. GMT (5:20 p.m. ET). A government official said the death toll was at least 40. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were probably foreigners among the victims. He also said that investigations had shown that all the attacks were suicide bombings, and that car bombs had not been used. "International terrorism has struck Casablanca tonight," Interior Minister Mustapha Sahel said Saturday in a statement.

Speaking on Moroccan television, Sahel said 10 of the dead were the bombers. At least 100 more were injured in the blasts. Most of the victims were Moroccans, he said. Witnesses said many of the casualties occurred at a Jewish community center. U.S. officials in the region told NBC News that other explosions took place in front of the five-star Hotel Safir Casablanca, at an exclusive Spanish club and at the Belgian consulate. There was no immediate information on the location of the fifth explosion. A policeman at Casa de Espana, exclusive club popular with Spanish businessmen and diplomats, said the attackers slit the porter's throat on entering. Casa de Espana club president Rafael Bermudez, still in shock and wearing a blood-stained shirt, told Reuters: "I heard two blasts and thought they were short-circuits." Witnesses said at least one attacker blew himself up with grenades strapped to his belt. Rescue workers left the building carrying black plastic bags which appeared to contain parts of dismembered bodies. The Belgian consulate is near the U.S. consulate, which officials said did not appear to have been targeted and was unharmed.

The formal prediction for this shocking event was for a period beginning one hour before the bombing and continuing three hours after, standard analysis. The result is a striking incline beginning about 45 minutes before the explosions and peaking at about 21:40, shortly after the bombing. The Chisquare is 14531 on 14400 df, with a p-value of 0.087.

Suicide Bombing in Morroco


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