Today marks 18 years since the tragic incident in 2003, when five Bulgarian servicemen were killed and 27 others were seriously injured in a suicide truck bomb attack on our base in Karbala.

The bloody assassination claimed the lives of Major Georgi Kachorin, Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Saraev, Officer Candidate Anton Petrov, Officer Candidate Ivan Indjov and Officer Candidate Svilen Kirov.

On December 27, 2003, at 12.45 local time (11.45 Bulgarian time), a tanker exploded near the fence of area "1" (India), where the headquarters of the Bulgarian battalion is. It broke through the barriers and exploded near the fence. This caused great destruction in the camp, and the battalion headquarters building was destroyed. Fighters from the ‘India’ region were evacuated to another area. The wounded - 27 servicemen were evacuated to Baghdad, to the Polish divisional hospital in Babil and to the medical center in the Bulgarian battalion.

After that day, five Bulgarian families are not the same, children are left orphans, parents do not stop staring at the door to open and their children to come home. In Radovets, the native village of officer candidate Ivan Inzhov, the natives will never forget his tragic death. The square of the village bears his name, and a memorial plaque has been placed in the village park, where often people from the village stop to lay flowers and pray for Ivan's soul. For them, our fallen fighters are real heroes.

For the entire period of participation in the operation in Iraq - from August 22, 2003 to the end of 2008, the Republic of Bulgaria has participated with 11 contingents with a total number of 3,367 people. BGN 155,343,000 were spent on the maintenance, transport and equipment of the Bulgarian contingents during the operation in Iraq. The victims we sacrificed during the operation are 13.

/BGNES