Bombing
The car bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber driving a delivery van packed with about 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of explosives at approximately 1:00 pm (GMT+2) April 18, 1983. The van, originally sold in Texas, bought used and shipped to the Gulf, gained access to the embassy compound and parked under the portico at the very front of the building, where it exploded. Former CIA operative Robert Baer's account says that the van broke through an outbuilding, crashed through the lobby door and exploded there. The blast collapsed the entire central facade of the horseshoe-shaped building, leaving the wreckage of balconies and offices in heaped tiers of rubble, and spewing masonry, metal and glass fragments in a wide swath. The explosion was heard throughout West Beirut and broke windows as far as a mile away. Rescue workers worked around the clock, unearthing the dead and wounded.
Read more about this topic: 1983 United States Embassy Bombing
Famous quotes containing the word bombing:
“There is a “sanctity” involved with bringing a child into this world: it is better than bombing one out of it.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“Did all of us feel interested in bombing buildings only when the men we slept with were urging us on?”
—Jane Alpert (b. 1947)
“My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)