2003 a truck bomb attack on united nations headquarters in iraq k 08 19
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2003 23 years ago Historical Events August 19 4 sources

A truck-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees.

On August 19, in the year 2003, A truck-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of August 19, one of 410 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The Canal Hotel bombing was a suicide truck bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, during the afternoon of 19 August 2003. It killed 23 people, including the United Nations' Special Representative in Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and wounded over 100, including human rights lawyer and political activist Amin Mekki Medani. The attack targeted the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq created just five days earlier. The attack resulted in the withdrawal within weeks of most of the 600 UN staff members from Iraq. These events were to have a profound and lasting impact on the UN's security practices globally.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on August 19, 2003 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 4 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 1 May 2026.

On This Date in History 410

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 19 Maria Branyas, American-Spanish supercentenarian (born 1907)
Notable Deaths 2023 Aug 19 Václav Patejdl, Slovak musician (born 1954)
Notable Deaths 2022 Aug 19 Tekla Juniewicz, Polish supercentenarian (born 1906)
Notable Deaths 2021 Aug 19 Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2019 Aug 19 Lars Larsen, Danish businessman and billionaire, founder and owner of the Danish retail chain JYSK (born 1948)
Historical Events 2017 Aug 19 Tens of thousands of farmed non-native Atlantic salmon are accidentally released into the wild in Washington waters in…
Notable Deaths 2017 Aug 19 Dick Gregory, American comedian, author and activist (born 1932)
Selected Events 2017 Aug 19 Around 250,000 farmed non-native Atlantic salmon were accidentally released into the wild near Cypress Island,…
Notable Deaths 2016 Aug 19 Jack Riley, American actor and voice artist (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 19 George Houser, American minister and activist (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 19 Sanat Mehta, Indian activist and politician (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 19 Samih al-Qasim, Palestinian poet and journalist (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 19 Simin Behbahani, Iranian poet and activist (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 19 James Foley, American photographer and journalist (born 1973)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 19 Candida Lycett Green, Anglo-Irish journalist and author (born 1942)
Historical Events 2013 Aug 19 The Dhamara Ghat train accident kills at least 37 people in the Indian state of Bihar.
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 19 Musa'id bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 19 Russell S. Doughten, American director and producer (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 19 Abdul Rahim Hatif, Afghan politician, 8th President of Afghanistan (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 19 Donna Hightower, American singer-songwriter (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 19 Donal Henahan, American journalist and critic (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 19 Ivar Iversen, Norwegian canoe racer (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 19 Tony Scott, English-American director and producer (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 19 Edmund Skellings, American poet and academic (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2011 Aug 19 Raúl Ruiz, Chilean director and producer (born 1941)
Historical Events 2010 Aug 19 Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.
Historical Events 2009 Aug 19 A series of bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 101 and injures 565 others.
Notable Deaths 2009 Aug 19 Don Hewitt, American television producer, created 60 Minutes (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2008 Aug 19 Levy Mwanawasa, Zambian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Zambia (born 1948)
Historical Events 2005 Aug 19 The first-ever joint military exercise between Russia and China, called Peace Mission 2005 begins.
Notable Deaths 2005 Aug 19 Mo Mowlam, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (born 1949)
Selected Events 2005 Aug 19 Thunderstorms in southern Ontario, Canada, spawned at least three tornadoes that caused over C$500 million in damage.
Historical Events 2004 Aug 19 Google Inc. has its initial public offering on Nasdaq.
Notable Births 2004 Aug 19 Chae Hyun-woo, South Korean football player
Notable Births 2004 Aug 19 Nguyễn Đình Bắc, Vietnamese football player
Historical Events 2003 Aug 19 Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing: A suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem, planned by Hamas, kills 23 Israelis, seven of them…
Notable Deaths 2003 Aug 19 Carlos Roberto Reina, Honduran lawyer and politician, President of Honduras (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2003 Aug 19 Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (born 1948)
Selected Events 2003 Aug 19 A Hamas suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded more than 130 others, including many Orthodox Jewish children, on…
Selected Events 2003 Aug 19 A car bomb destroyed the United Nations headquarters at Baghdad's Canal Hotel, killing Brazilian diplomat Sérgio…
Historical Events 2002 Aug 19 Khankala Mi-26 crash: A Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside Grozny,…
Selected Events 2002 Aug 19 Second Chechen War: A Russian Mil Mi-26 was brought down by Chechen separatists with a man-portable air-defense system…
Notable Births 2001 Aug 19 Awak Kuier, Finnish basketball player
Notable Deaths 2001 Aug 19 Donald Woods, South African journalist and activist (born 1933)
Notable Births 2000 Aug 19 Keegan Murray, American basketball player
Notable Deaths 2000 Aug 19 Bineshwar Brahma, Indian poet, author, and educator (born 1948)
Historical Events 1999 Aug 19 In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Serbians rally to demand the resignation of Federal Republic of…
Notable Births 1999 Aug 19 Ethan Cutkosky, American actor and musician
Notable Births 1999 Aug 19 Thomas Flegler, Australian rugby league player
Notable Births 1999 Aug 19 Florentino Luís, Portuguese footballer

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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