The 2003 Casablanca bombings, commonly known as May 16, were a series of coordinated suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. That night, twelve suicide bombers loyal to Salafia Jihadia organization detonated a bombs hidden in their backpacks in the Casa de España restaurant, the Hotel Farah, the Jewish Alliance of Casablanca, and sites near the Belgian consulate and an old Jewish cemetery. The attacks were the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history, claiming the lives of forty-five people and injuring at least 100. Despite their deliberate targeting of Jews, none of the victims were Jews as the attack occurred during Shabbat.
Al-Qaeda ideologue Abu Qatada, pictured during his 2013 deportation from the United Kingdom, was reportedly involved in the creation of the GICM.
Boulevard de Paris, where most of the bombings occurred, pictured in 2005
Radical preacher Mohamed Fizazi [fr] was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his ideological influence on the attackers. He received a pardon from the King in 2011.
The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, pictured in 2004
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area, and over 4.27 million in Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world.
Image: Hassan II mosque 2
Image: P1020285 (7162398085)
Image: Downtown, Casablanca
Image: Πάρκο Αραβικού Συνδέσμου 1640 (cropped)