Pacitalia
20-09-2004, 02:44
IL MONTERIO (PPA) - Preliminary reports are more positive than they could have been. A car bomb has exploded on a major street in Pacitalia's seventh-largest city, Il Monterio. It is the capital of the Northeast District and, as the Government describes, the headquarters of the separatist rebel group GLNP (Gruppe Liberaccione di Norte-Pacitalia) that wants to create an autonomous region run by the predominantly-Spanish residents of the district. There are approximately 170 million people of Spanish descent in Pacitalia, making it the second-largest populate group in the country. Only about 30 million live in the Northeast region bordering the American states of New Mexico and Texas.
The group has been linked to many incidents in Il Monterio (known as Monterrey to the Spanish) and nearby Nogales.
- On 14 July 1977, GLNP detonated a car bomb while they were driving on the eastbound side of the A9 superhighway 5km west of Il Monterio, the Northeast's primary east-west route. That incident caused a 24-vehicle pile-up on the EB roadway, killing 34 and injuring 102 more.
- Two years later on the same day, the group detonated another car bomb on the westbound A9, this time 3km east of the city. Another 44 people lost their lives. All that were involved died.
The reason for 14 July? The group wants this to remembered as "El Dia de los Savioros" (loosely, Day of the Martyrs), and to be known as the Mestizian national holiday if they gain independence.
- 5 January 1981, the Government sends in 40,000 emergency peace troops to crush the group. 172 members of the GLNP are killed in a firefight on the city's "Lado Oeste".
- 29 August 1990, GLNP members take the Minister Responsible for the Northeast District hostage and murder him 9 days later. Three guerillas are charged with the crime and executed in October.
- 14 July 2002, GLNP members take the MRNED hostage again but are ambushed by Pacitalian Special Tactics Agents (PSTAs) in downtown Il Monterio. Another 84 GLNP guerillas are killed.
Which brings us to today's incident.
The bomb was placed in a black transport van on the north side, about 4km from Reggiano d'Ampezzo International Airport. An informant told the Pacitalian Central Intelligence Commission (PCIC) the bomb was set to go off at precisely 7:14 a.m. local time (Yes, 7:14 am as in July 14th). However, a wire connection was faulty on the bomb, something the guerillas had "overlooked the first time and felt was not necessary to correct", according to the squealer. Instead, he says, a "brave" guerilla volunteered to set the contingent backup fuse, which had a 20-second timer. The guerilla was on the next street and safely out of harm's way by the time the bomb exploded.
However, the informant told PCIC investigators that he had expressed concern to the other guerillas that the "vehicle used would absorb most of the explosive shock and resulting force material". He was correct, because the bomb's explosion was only 15 percent of what it could have been had the bomb been placed on the undercarriage or roof of the car, like they are in Palestine.
This time, the 100+ people on Via della Corpata were spared. Only 6 casualties resulted from the explosion, all were injuries. The police attempted to chase the guerilla using tips from bystanders, including a tourist from Pacitalia's ally of Torsg.
As of now, the police, PCIC and PTSA are on the hunt for the orchestrators of this plot. Thankfully, all escaped with their lives. But the penalty for terrorism in Pacitalia is death if an involved person is caught.
Reporting from Il Monterio, I'm Gisele Caravaggio for the Pacitalian Press Association.
The group has been linked to many incidents in Il Monterio (known as Monterrey to the Spanish) and nearby Nogales.
- On 14 July 1977, GLNP detonated a car bomb while they were driving on the eastbound side of the A9 superhighway 5km west of Il Monterio, the Northeast's primary east-west route. That incident caused a 24-vehicle pile-up on the EB roadway, killing 34 and injuring 102 more.
- Two years later on the same day, the group detonated another car bomb on the westbound A9, this time 3km east of the city. Another 44 people lost their lives. All that were involved died.
The reason for 14 July? The group wants this to remembered as "El Dia de los Savioros" (loosely, Day of the Martyrs), and to be known as the Mestizian national holiday if they gain independence.
- 5 January 1981, the Government sends in 40,000 emergency peace troops to crush the group. 172 members of the GLNP are killed in a firefight on the city's "Lado Oeste".
- 29 August 1990, GLNP members take the Minister Responsible for the Northeast District hostage and murder him 9 days later. Three guerillas are charged with the crime and executed in October.
- 14 July 2002, GLNP members take the MRNED hostage again but are ambushed by Pacitalian Special Tactics Agents (PSTAs) in downtown Il Monterio. Another 84 GLNP guerillas are killed.
Which brings us to today's incident.
The bomb was placed in a black transport van on the north side, about 4km from Reggiano d'Ampezzo International Airport. An informant told the Pacitalian Central Intelligence Commission (PCIC) the bomb was set to go off at precisely 7:14 a.m. local time (Yes, 7:14 am as in July 14th). However, a wire connection was faulty on the bomb, something the guerillas had "overlooked the first time and felt was not necessary to correct", according to the squealer. Instead, he says, a "brave" guerilla volunteered to set the contingent backup fuse, which had a 20-second timer. The guerilla was on the next street and safely out of harm's way by the time the bomb exploded.
However, the informant told PCIC investigators that he had expressed concern to the other guerillas that the "vehicle used would absorb most of the explosive shock and resulting force material". He was correct, because the bomb's explosion was only 15 percent of what it could have been had the bomb been placed on the undercarriage or roof of the car, like they are in Palestine.
This time, the 100+ people on Via della Corpata were spared. Only 6 casualties resulted from the explosion, all were injuries. The police attempted to chase the guerilla using tips from bystanders, including a tourist from Pacitalia's ally of Torsg.
As of now, the police, PCIC and PTSA are on the hunt for the orchestrators of this plot. Thankfully, all escaped with their lives. But the penalty for terrorism in Pacitalia is death if an involved person is caught.
Reporting from Il Monterio, I'm Gisele Caravaggio for the Pacitalian Press Association.