2019 Ribenstadt Bombings
| 2019 Ribenstadt Bombings | |
|---|---|
| Part of Terrorism in the Ethalns | |
| Location | Ribenstadt, Faethalria |
| Date | 30th January 2019 11:32 (UTC+7) |
| Target |
|
| Weapons | 2 Dirty duffel bag bombs |
| Deaths | 38 (37 civillian, 1 perpetrator) |
| Injured | 46 |
| Victims | Civilian |
| Perpetrators | Southern Auroran Front (SAF) |
| Motive | Kostoria-Obertonian nationalism Anti-Ethalrianism Ethalrophobia |
On the 30th of January 2019, Kostoria-Obertonian nationalist Eric Schumacher detonated a dirty bomb outside of the Ribenstadt square imperial war museum in Faethalria. Shrapnel from the bomb instantly killed 25 people, primarily those in the museums queue, with a further 12 dying in hospital from their wounds, and inuring 46. Radioactive material was discovered by a bomb disposal unit soon after the blast, and led to Ribenstadt square and a 100m zone surrounding it being closed for 9 months whilst the site was decontaminated and was then subject to restrictions for a further 6 months whilst background radiation fell to acceptable levels.
The perpetrator, Eric Schumacher, was located by police less than half an hour after the explosion aboard a bus. He was passed out, suffering from acute radiation sickness after approximately 3 hours of exposure to the device. After two blood transfusions he made a full recovery. He was found to be associated with the Southern Auroran Front, a K-O terrorist organisation, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole with the first 15 years to be served on Detention island.
A simultaneous attack on the Fort Freya military base was attempted using another dirty bomb transported in a small hatchback was stopped before it could enter the compound. However the driver detonated the device anyway, killing himself and contaminating the area with radioactive material though causing no other casualties.
An investigation by the Auroran Security Agency found that the radioactive material used in both devices was composed of fissile fuel which isotopically matched samples recovered from the Nuremkastel nuclear power plant which had suffered a meltdown during the Auroran-Pacific War. Additionally, documents concerning the transport of fuel from the meltdown site were found to be falsified, totalling 9kg unaccounted for. With the Southern Auroran Front claiming responsibility for the attack, this prompted the Faethalria-led intervention into Kostoria-Obertonia