Canal Hotel Bombing
Encyclopedia
The Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad
, Iraq
, in the afternoon of August 19, 2003, killed at least 22 people, including the United Nations
' Special Representative in Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello
, and wounded over 100. The blast targeted the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq
created just 5 days earlier. (The United Nations had used the hotel as its headquarters in Iraq since the early 1990s.) The attack was followed by a second bombing a month later which resulted in the withdrawal of the 600 UN staff members in Iraq. These events were to have a profound and lasting impact on the UN's security practices globally.
Abu Musab Zarqawi, a leader of the al-Qaeda
terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the blast.
recounts his experiences at the Canal Hotel the day of 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 next door and a U.S. Army Civil-Military Operations Centre
located at the rear of the Canal Hotel, and the resulting shockwave was felt over 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
and 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, from Iraq's pre-war arsenal.
The OCHA
Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) for Iraq (UNOHCI) was located directly beneath the office of Sérgio Vieira de Mello
, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and suffered a direct hit. Of the eight staff and one visitor in the office at the time, seven were killed instantly, but Sérgio Vieira de Mello and Gil Loescher were critically wounded and trapped in debris under the collapsed portion of the building. An American soldier - First Sergeant William von Zehle - crawled down through the collapsed building and worked to extricate the two men. He was joined later by another American soldier - Staff Sergeant Andre Valentine - and the two men spent the next three hours trying to extricate the two survivors without benefit of any rescue equipment. Loescher was rescued after having his crushed legs amputated by the soldiers, but Vieira de Mello died shortly before he would have been able to have been removed.
According to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
, de Mello was specifically targeted in the blast. The reason given by al-Zarqawi for targeting de Mello was that he had helped East Timor
become an independent state (see the Indonesian occupation of East Timor
). Zarqawi said that de Mello had participated in the unlawful removal of territory from the Islamic Caliphate and was therefore a thief and a criminal.
, arrived in Baghdad along with a small number of staff.
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. 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.
, 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.
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 Algeria
n national Fahdal Nassim. 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.
, 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."
However, since this event the UN country team's expatriates and leaders relocated in Amman (Jordan) and continued to work remotely. Only some Iraqis have continued under drastic security measures all around the country (except in Kurdistan where they are more numerous and can move more freely). Few expatriates are, 5 years later, authorized to go inside Iraq (including Kurdistan) and only inside huge security compounds such as the so-called "Green Zone
" in Baghdad. Humanitarian support is now entirely conducted inside the country by NGOs, under UN remote supervision.
made history when it adopted the Swedish sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations, that amongst other important humanitarian decisions, decided to designate 19 August as the World Humanitarian Day
(WHD). The Resolution gives for the first time, a special recognition to all humanitarian and United Nations
and associated personnel who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause and those who have lost their lives in the cause of duty and urges all Member States, entities of the United Nations
within existing resources, as well as the other International Organizations
and Non-Governmental Organizations
to observe it annually in an appropriate way. It marks the day on which the then Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello
and his 21 colleagues tragically made the ultimate sacrifices in the cause of duty following the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad.
} Kofi Annan's statement on the one-year anniversary
} on the bombing, Oct. 22, 2003 March 3, 2004 Report of the Security in Iraq Accountability Panel (SIAP)
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, in the afternoon of August 19, 2003, killed at least 22 people, including the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Special Representative in Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations employee who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN...
, and wounded over 100. The blast targeted the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq
United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq is an entity that was formed by the United Nations in Security Council Resolution 1500 on 14 August 2003.-Mandate:...
created just 5 days earlier. (The United Nations had used the hotel as its headquarters in Iraq since the early 1990s.) The attack was followed by a second bombing a month later which resulted in the withdrawal of the 600 UN staff members in Iraq. These events were to have a profound and lasting impact on the UN's security practices globally.
Abu Musab Zarqawi, a leader of the al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the blast.
The bombing
In his book The Prince of the Marshes, Scottish writer Rory StewartRory Stewart
Roderick 'Rory' James Nugent Stewart OBE FRSL MP DUniv is a British academic, author, and Conservative politician. Since May 2010, he has been the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border, in the county of Cumbria, North West England.- Overview :Stewart was a senior coalition official in a...
recounts his experiences at the Canal Hotel the day of the bombing.
Mine action
Mine action is a domain within humanitarian aid and development studies concerned with activities which aim to reduce the social, economic and environmental impact of landmines and the explosive remnants of war...
Service (UNMAS) was holding a press conference. The explosion damaged a spinal cord treatment center at the hospital next door and a U.S. Army Civil-Military Operations Centre
Civil-military operations center
A civil-military operations center or CMOC is a center usually established by a military force for coordinating civil-military operations in an area of operations. It usually serves as a meeting place for military and non military entities involved in stabilization, humanitarian relief and...
located at the rear of the Canal Hotel, and the resulting shockwave was felt over a mile away.
Kamaz
KAMAZ is a Russian truck manufacturer located in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russian Federation. KAMAZ opened their doors in 1976...
(manufactured in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and 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, from Iraq's pre-war arsenal.
The OCHA
Ocha
Ocha is a genus of moth in the family Lasiocampidae....
Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) for Iraq (UNOHCI) was located directly beneath the office of Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations employee who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN...
, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and suffered a direct hit. Of the eight staff and one visitor in the office at the time, seven were killed instantly, but Sérgio Vieira de Mello and Gil Loescher were critically wounded and trapped in debris under the collapsed portion of the building. An American soldier - First Sergeant William von Zehle - crawled down through the collapsed building and worked to extricate the two men. He was joined later by another American soldier - Staff Sergeant Andre Valentine - and the two men spent the next three hours trying to extricate the two survivors without benefit of any rescue equipment. Loescher was rescued after having his crushed legs amputated by the soldiers, but Vieira de Mello died shortly before he would have been able to have been removed.
According to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
, de Mello was specifically targeted in the blast. The reason given by al-Zarqawi for targeting de Mello was that he had helped East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
become an independent state (see the Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Indonesia occupied East Timor from December 1975 to October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, a 1974 coup in Portugal led to decolonization among its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain...
). Zarqawi said that de Mello had participated in the unlawful removal of territory from the Islamic Caliphate and was therefore a thief and a criminal.
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 QaziAshraf Qazi
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi is a politician in Pakistan and a career diplomat in the United Nations. On September 4, 2007, the UN's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed Ashraf Qazi as his new Special Representative in Sudan...
, arrived in Baghdad along with a small number of staff.
List of victims
| Name | Age | Nationality | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations employee who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN... |
55 |  Brazil |
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General United Nations Secretary-General The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations.... to Iraq |
| Nadia Younes Nadia Younes Nadia Younes was an Egyptian national who spent her entire career, for over 33 years, in the United Nations and the World Health Organization, rising to high-level posts in a variety of areas.... |
57 |  Egypt |
Chief of Staff for Vieira de Mello |
| Fiona Watson Fiona Watson Fiona Watson was a Scottish political affairs officer working in Vieira de Mello's office who was killed along with other members of UN staff in the Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq, on the afternoon of 19 August 2003.... |
35 |  United Kingdom |
Member of Vieira de Mello's staff |
| Jean-Sélim Kanaan Jean-Sélim Kanaan Jean-Sélim Kanaan was a United Nations diplomat, Egyptian, Italian and French national, who was killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, along with Sérgio Vieira de Mello and other members of his staff... |
33 | Egypt Italy Early Modern France |
Member of Vieira de Mello's staff |
| Richard 'Rick' Hooper | 40 |  United States |
Senior advisor to the UN Under-Secretary-General Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Secretary-General for a renewable term of four years.... for the Department of Political Affairs United Nations Department of Political Affairs The United Nations Department of Political Affairs is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations with responsibility for monitoring and assessing global political developments and advising and assisting the United Nations Secretary General and his envoys in the peaceful prevention and... |
| Manuel Martín-Oar Manuel Martín-Oar Spanish Naval Captain Manuel Martín-Oar died from injuries sustained in the truck bomb attack on the United Nations' Baghdad headquarters on Tuesday August 19, 2003, which killed 24 people. He was working for the Spanish special ambassador to Iraq, Miguel Benzo Perea.Captain Martín-Oar was born in... |
56 |  Spain |
Naval captain, assistant to the Spanish special ambassador to Iraq |
| Chris Klein-Beekman Chris Klein-Beekman Chris Klein-Beekman was a Canadian aid worker who was killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq. Klein-Beekman was working as the UNICEF program co-ordinator for Iraq. He had been in the country since May 2002. He had also worked for the United Nations in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kosovo.He was... |
32 |  Canada |
UN Children's Fund's program coordinator |
| Reham Al-Farra | 29 |  Jordan |
Department of Public Information, Deputy Spokesperson |
| Martha Teas | 47 | United States |
UNOHCI manager |
| Leen Assad Al-Qadi | 32 |  Iraq |
UNOHCI Information Assistant |
| Ranillo Buenaventura | 47 |  Philippines |
UNOHCI |
| Reza Hosseini Reza Hosseini Reza Hosseini was a relief worker who was killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq. His colleagues valued him for his 'joie de vivre' and great operational skill: “He had an air of confidence that there were no problems that couldn’t be overcome. And that confidence was contagious,” one... |
43 |  Iran |
UNOHCI |
| Ihsan Taha Husein | 26 | Iraq |
UNOHCI Driver |
| Basim Mahmoud Utaiwi | 40 | Iraq |
UNOHCI Security guard |
| Raid Shaker Mustafa Al-Mahdawi | 32 | Iraq |
United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) |
| Gillian Clark | 47 | Canada |
Christian Children's Fund Christian Children's Fund ChildFund, formerly known as Christian Children's Fund and China's Children Fund, is an international child sponsorship group based in Richmond, Virginia, United States... |
| Arthur Helton Arthur Helton Arthur Helton was a lawyer, refugee advocate, teacher and author. He died in the 2003 Canal Hotel bombing while he was in Baghdad to assess humanitarian conditions in Iraq.... |
54 | United States |
Director of peace and conflict studies at the US Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs... |
| Dr. Alya Souza | 54 | Iraq |
World Bank World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty... |
| Khidir Saleem Sahir | Iraq |
Civilian | |
| Saad Hermiz Abona | 45 | Iraq |
Working for a UN subcontractor Subcontractor A subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract.... |
| Omar Kahtan Mohamed Al-Orfali | 34 | 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. 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.
Suspects
As of 2006, the prime suspects in this bombing are followers of the late Abu Musab al-ZarqawiAbu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh was a Jordanian militant Islamist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan...
, who had purportedly claimed responsibility for this attack. In January 2005, a top bombmaker for Zarqawi's group, Abu Omar al-Kurdi
Abu Omar al-Kurdi
Abu Omar al-Kurdi, real name Sami Muhammad Ali Said al-Jaaf, was a top bombmaker for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's organization in Iraq, Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad. He was captured in January 2005....
, 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
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
for Mullah Halgurd al-Khabir, a commander of Ansar al-Sunna, in connection with the attack.
In an audio tape quoted here, Zarqawi motivated the bombing of the UN building.
The Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
newspaper Corriere della Sera
Corriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...
identified the suicide bomber as Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n national Fahdal Nassim. Other suspects included Baathists, militant Sunni and Shiite groups, organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, and tribal elements. Blame was initially thought to lie with Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...
, 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.
Responses
The suicide bombing of the United Nations in Baghdad drew overwhelming condemnation. Kofi AnnanKofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, 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."
However, since this event the UN country team's expatriates and leaders relocated in Amman (Jordan) and continued to work remotely. Only some Iraqis have continued under drastic security measures all around the country (except in Kurdistan where they are more numerous and can move more freely). Few expatriates are, 5 years later, authorized to go inside Iraq (including Kurdistan) and only inside huge security compounds such as the so-called "Green Zone
Green Zone
The Green Zone is the most common name for the International Zone of Baghdad. It is a area of central Baghdad, Iraq, that was the governmental center of the Coalition Provisional Authority and remains the center of the international presence in the city...
" in Baghdad. Humanitarian support is now entirely conducted inside the country by NGOs, under UN remote supervision.
The World Humanitarian Day
On 11 December 2008, the United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
made history when it adopted the Swedish sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations, that amongst other important humanitarian decisions, decided to designate 19 August as the World Humanitarian Day
World Humanitarian Day
World Humanitarian Day is a day dedicated to recognize humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as part of a Swedish-sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the...
(WHD). The Resolution gives for the first time, a special recognition to all humanitarian and United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and associated personnel who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause and those who have lost their lives in the cause of duty and urges all Member States, entities of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
within existing resources, as well as the other International Organizations
International organization
An intergovernmental organization, sometimes rendered as an international governmental organization and both abbreviated as IGO, is an organization composed primarily of sovereign states , or of other intergovernmental organizations...
and Non-Governmental Organizations
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
to observe it annually in an appropriate way. It marks the day on which the then Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations employee who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN...
and his 21 colleagues tragically made the ultimate sacrifices in the cause of duty following the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad.
See also
- Attacks on humanitarian workersAttacks on humanitarian workersHumanitarian aid workers belonging to United Nations organisations, PVOs / NGOs or the Red Cross / Red Crescent have traditionally enjoyed both international legal protection, and de facto immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However, attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally...
- World Humanitarian DayWorld Humanitarian DayWorld Humanitarian Day is a day dedicated to recognize humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as part of a Swedish-sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the...
External links
- United Nations portal for the anniversary
} Kofi Annan's statement on the one-year anniversary
-
- who.int Senior WHO official, Dr David NabarroDavid NabarroDr. David Nabarro , works as the Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza at United Nations Headquarters in New York. He has been seconded to this position from the World Health Organization.-Biography:...
, describes his experience inside the Canal Hotel
- who.int Senior WHO official, Dr David Nabarro
} on the bombing, Oct. 22, 2003 March 3, 2004 Report of the Security in Iraq Accountability Panel (SIAP)
- GlobalSecurity.org The Canal Hotel UN Headquarters Compound