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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.
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