1997 Mostar car bombing

Terrorist incident in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 250 Mostar 43.339554 17.8212405 Mostar, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina 43 20 52.18 N 17 48 07.84 E region:US-NY_type:event inline,title 1997 09 18 y 23:40 CEST Car bomb, Islamic terrorism None 29 Islamic extremism and retribution against the HVO 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 is thought to have targeted Croat civilians and policemen as retribution against the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), which had fought Bosnian Muslim forces for control of the city during the Croat–Bosniak War. The attack was carried out by radical Islamists.Vranješ Lalić Šikman 2021 65 The attack was organized by Ahmad Zuhair Handala, with his associates, Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad from Bahrain,ISN 2009 Nebil Ali Hil, nicknamed Abu Yemen, Saleh Nedal and Vlado Popovski from North Macedonia.Lučić 2001 132 At least two of the arrested had links to Al-Qaeda. The attackers did not mention whether the bombing was religiously motivated or whether it was retribution against the Croatian Defense Council.http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/story/3/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD/1902965/%D0%A5%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0+%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85+%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B0+%D1%83+%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%A5.html Хронологија терористичких напада у БиХ ((Serbia RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of Serbia)) 2018-05-09 sr History 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 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.Hercegovina.info 2014 The explosion created a crater 240 cm wide and 85 cm deep. In total, 120 apartments sustained some level of damage, of which 56 were completely destroyed. About 120 vehicles were also affected,Bljesak.info 2012 including 46 that were completely destroyed.Hercegovina.info 2014 NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) peacekeepers were the first to arrive at the scene. An investigation commenced the following day, and was carried out by the criminal police of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton with help from experts from Zagreb and Split. Immediately after the attack, domestic and foreign security agencies began searching for the perpetrators. Bosniak politicians, including prime minister Haris Silajdžić and media outlets, accused the Croats of carrying out the attack.Krešić 2011Lučić 2001 131 As it occurred shortly after the Croat and Bosniak city police forces were united, and after the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH) secured victory at the general elections, SFOR suspected three possible motives. In their opinion, it was either politically motivated and designed to sabotage the re-unification of the city's police force; mafia-related; or carried out by Islamic extremists with the goal of creating as many casualties and causing as much damage as possible. SFOR considered the latter hypothesis the least likely of the three, as it expected that a terrorist group would have taken responsibility immediately after such an attack.Krešić 2011 Handala's name was made public by the leader of the Wahhabi community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alu Husin Imad, known as Abu Hamza. Abu Hamza told reporters that "[the Wahhabist community] doesn't justify, but understands the crime". Handala and his associates apparently carried out the attack as retribution to the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), which had fought the predominantly Muslim Bosniaks during the war.Bljesak.info 2012 Arrests and trial In September 1998, Italian attorneys issued an international warrant for a group of criminals suspected of multiple crimes in Italy, including terrorist acts. Among the group was Saleh Nedal. He was arrested in Travnik in April 1999. Investigating judge Mirjana Grubešić and district attorney Marinko Jurčević, asked the County Court in Travnik to comply with the Italian request to extradite Saleh but the court, presided by Senad Begović, ruled against Saleh's extradition in July 1999. The same judge later signed a decree which terminated Saleh's imprisonment. The Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, presided by judge Nazif Sulman, affirmed the decree in August 1999. Saleh later warned Zuhair, who fled Bosnia before the start of his trial on 18 September 1998.Lučić 2001 132 During the police investigation, Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad admitted to committing the crime and made the same admission before the investigating judge. However, he denied any involvement at the trial, stating that the police had coerced him by promising a quick trial followed by his release. He was not charged with terrorism, but for constructing a car bomb, a criminal act which endangered the general safety and as a result, all the accused received lighter sentences. Zuhair was tried in absentia and sentenced to ten years in prison, while Ali Hamad received eight- and Nebil Ali Hil five years in prison.Gradišić2012Lučić 2001 132–133 Handala was eventually arrested after the September 11 attacks, and in 2007 was being detained in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.Schindler 2007 266 See also 1995 Rijeka bombing 2010 Bugojno bombing 2015 Zvornik police station shooting Footnotes Books Hećimović Esad Garibi: mudžahedini u BiH 1992-1999 https://books.google.com/books?id=27JPAQAAIAAJ 2009 Dan graf 978-86-83517-48-0 Kohlmann Evan Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network https://books.google.com/books?id=sYLaAAAAMAAJ 2004 Berg Publishers 978-1-85973-802-3 Schindler John R. Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa'ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad New York City Zenith Press 2007 9780760330036 Vranješ Nevenko Lalić Velibor Šikman Mile 2021 Social Threats, Challenges and Risks in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Social Security Perspectives Social Security in the Balkans: An Overview of Social Policy in Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria 1 BRILL 9789004466579 Journals Lučić Ivo 2001 Bosnia and Herzegovina and Terrorism National Security and the Future Zagreb St. George Association 2 3–4 1332-4454 News articles 15 godina od razorne eksplozije u Splitskoj ulici http://www.bljesak.info/rubrika/vijesti/clanak/15-godina-od-razorne-eksplozije-u-splitskoj-ulici/32454 hr Bljesak.info 18 September 2012 28 April 2015 Bljesak.info 2012 2 January 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150102021329/http://www.bljesak.info/rubrika/vijesti/clanak/15-godina-od-razorne-eksplozije-u-splitskoj-ulici/32454 dead Gradišić Mirela Dosad je izrečeno 11 presuda za krivično djelo terorizam http://www.federalna.ba/bhs/vijest/51719/od-handale-do-jasarevica bs Federalna televizija 6 December 2012 28 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150102030312/http://www.federalna.ba/bhs/vijest/51719/od-handale-do-jasarevica 2 January 2015 dead Jihad, bought and sold http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Articles/Detail/?id=95734 ISN 26 June 2009 28 April 2015 ISN 2009 Krešić Zoran U istrazi najmanje sumnjali da su teroristi stavili autobombu http://www.vecernji.ba/u-istrazi-najmanje-sumnjali-da-su-teroristi-stavili-autobombu-328551 hr Večernji list 20 September 2011 28 April 2015 Mostar: 17 godina od terorističkog napada auto bombom u Splitskoj ulici http://www.hercegovina.info/vijesti/vijesti/mostar-17-godina-od-teroristickog-napada-auto-bombom-u-splitskoj-ulici-80550 hr Hercegovina.info 18 September 2014 28 April 2015 Hercegovina.info 2014 Subjects about politics in Bih in May 1998 http://www.ddh.nl/org/poo/uk/politics/0598.htm dDH 28 April 2015 dDH Vast investigation in Bosnia Herzegovina http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/536003/posts Free Republic 30 September 2001 28 April 2015 Free Republic 2001 Maroević Rade Хронологија терористичких напада у БиХ http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/story/3/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD/1902965/%D0%A5%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0+%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85+%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B0+%D1%83+%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%A5.html sr Radio Television of Serbia 28 April 2015 28 April 2015 Category:Military history of Mostar Category:1997 building bombings Category:Attacks on police stations in the 1990s Category:Car and truck bombings in Europe Category:Car and truck bombings in 1997 Category:September 1997 in Europe Category:Islamic terrorism in Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Terrorist incidents in Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1997 Category:1997 crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Building bombings in Europe Category:Attacks on police stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina