2003 Yorkerdam Attacks
| 2003 Yorkerdam Attacks | |
|---|---|
| Part of Insurgency in Lysian Columbia | |
 Lord Hanton Square after the first bombing. | |
| Location | Yorkerdam, Delamaria |
| Date | March 1st, 2003 9:22-21:59 |
| Target | Goodwill Day Parades |
| Weapons | Improvised Explosives Land mines Grenades Semi-Automatic Guns |
| Deaths | 598 |
Non-fatal injuries | 12,988 |
| Perpetrators | ARC |
| Convicted | 65 |
The 2003 Yorkerdam Attacks were a series of terrorist attacks perpetrated by the ARC targeting Delamarian civilians a soldiers on Goodwill Day Parades in the city of Yorkerdam. The first attack occurred at 9:22 in the form of a shooting at Van Goer Army Barracks on the outskirst of Yorkerdam which killed 7 soldiers along with 1 shooter, this however was seen by police as a standalone event, and the parades began on schedule. At 10:02, the paraders reached Lord Hanton Square in central Yorkerdam, at 10:03 a bomb inside a parked van on the side of the road detonated as a police officer began to ask the man sat in drivers seat to move. It is believed that without this interference by the police the bomb would have detonated later to hit the bulk of the paraders scheduled to arrive within 5 minutes. The blast killed 450 paraders and onlookers, and damaged the surrounding buildings, in which a further 54 people would be killed by either the blast itself, debris or the subsequent collapse of the Yorkerdam Municipal Arts Building. This triggered an immediate response from the DSS, InBe and Pritchett House, and within half an hour every Tier 1 Government building, not including the DSS or Landtstadt Buildings, had been evacuated. However in that time two car bombs detonated on Mastricht Avenue, and Georgetown Avenue in Yorkerdam, killing a further 13 and injuring over 100.
By this time hospitals were already swarming with the injured, and the streets of Yorkerdam were impassible by car. The army began to set up field hospitals in Beaumont Park, using former 1930 Argic Fair buildings as medical centres. By 10:50 another two car bombs detonated in the Southbank Tunnel, killing four and injuring over 130, and the Woodrow Bridge killing 2 and injuring 23. These two locations were specifically selected to attack people as they were evacuating the city.
At 11:00 a bomb failed to detonate on Randstadt Avenue, leading the three terrorists two enter the Yorkerdam Central Post Office with semi-automatic rifles, and take 23 members of staff hostage. The attackers initially intended to take the employees of Wendall Keysmith hostage, who were on the 51st floor, however police soon arrived. A command centre was put together outside of Labrador, from which President George Cafferty could direct operations alogn with evacuated government and military staff. Upon hearing of the hostage situation, the President ordered that a rescue operation be implemented to at least save some lives among these attacks. The siege however lasted well into the night, with the last explosion occurring at 13:12 outside a police station, killing 2. By 21:30 Special Forces had began preparing to attack the post office, though witness reports from the morning stated that there were more than 8 attackers, though in reality there were but 3. This lead the President to authorise excessive force in taking the building, leading to the death of 12 of the hostages, most by the hands of the attackers, but at least two caught in crossfire from Special forces.
By 21:59 the building was labled secure and an end to the attacks was declared.