Terrorism in Croatia

This report illustrates Croatia's experience with the terrorist attack in the city of Rijeka in October 1995. Also, the intention of this report is to outline how emergency services were functioning in this sudden-onset situation.

The medical documentation of 27 wounded citizens in the attack was analyzed and the appearance of bodily wounds, severity of wounds, and the mechanisms of injury are described. From the forensic medical report, the wounds and damages sustained by the terrorist also were analyzed. All findings were compared with similar cases from around the world.

In the 27 wounded citizens, three (11%) had head injuries, and injuries of the abdomen in only two cases (7%) were found. The most common injuries sustained involved one or more extremities: 16 (59%) persons had wounds of an upper or lower extremity or a combination of multiple wounds. The main cause of death of the terrorist was explosive wounds to the chest and abdomen with destruction of multiple inner organs (primarily kidneys, liver, abdomen, and lung). Furthermore, the terrorist had a fracture of the skull base and multiple injuries to the brain.

Comparing the findings with other data from the literature, the distribution in the percentages of wounded is almost the same as reported in many bomb attacks. In this case, the walls of the building protected many citizens, which is why so few were seriously injured. Forensic examination of the terrorist's body showed all of the characteristics of blast injuries.