21 Killed 62 Injured Three Big Bombs

Juan Cole 06/15/2004

21 Killed, 62 Injured

Three big bombs went off in Iraq on Monday. One, in Baghdad, targeted foreign civilian contractors. The 13 dead from that bombing included 1 from the US, 2 from the UK, 1 from France, and 1 from the Philippines. Three worked for General Electric at power plants, and 2 were their private security guards. 62 persons were injured, including 10 foreigners, some badly.

Bombs in Mosul and Salman Pak killed another 8 persons, mainly Iraqi police and civil defense forces.

A Baghdad crowd gathered around the bombed vehicles, setting them afire and dancing around them. Some then threw stones at Marines. Some 50 Iraqi police in the area declined to intervene, fearful that the mob would turn on them if they were perceived as helping the Americans.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page