2021 Suceng Terror Attack

**2021 Suceng Terror Attack (2021年苏城恐怖袭击)** occured on 11 February 2021 in Suceng, Nanhan The attack was carried out using a car bomb killing 6 people, woundng over 36 other people and damaging nearby buildings. It took place at West Market Street at 10:01 am near the Tifu Resturant, resulting the resturant to be blown up due to a gas leakage after the car bomb set off.

The perpetrator was identified as Hassan Shahidi by the Nanhan Police via CCTV cameras and managed to escape. A manhunt for him started after he had been identified. The Police have identified that he had been acting alone and sentenced to rehabilitation camp.

## Background

The attack was carried out at Jindounese New Years eve when most Nanhanese wound be going out to visit family and friends. It took place a few months after the Jindou Revolution of 2020. Despite the Revolution's success and toppled the government, there still remains a high monarchist popularity in parts of the country.

## Bombing

The explosion was caused by a Shenzhou LC city car that was parked outside Tifu Resturant along West Market Street in downtown Suceng at 9.50 am on 11 February 2021. According the Suceng police, after parking the car, he took a nearby parked car, which was later reported to be stolen, and left the scene. At 10.01 am, the car bomb exploded. Emergency services arrived at the scene at 10.05 am and cordoned the area. At the nearby Tifu Resturant, smell of gas could be smelt. Firefighters were sent to investigate the situation. Before they could enter, the resturant burst into flame at 10.07 am before a secondary explosion at 10.10 am managed to flip cars, damage nearby buildings further and killing 2 firemen.

## Casualties

6 people were killed and 36 others were wounded by the bombing.

## Investigation

Following the bombing, police have identified Hassan Shahidi as the perpetrator for the terrorist attack. A bomb squad and the police arrived at the scene to gather what kind of explosive was used in the bombing. Police also swept the area to ensure that no other bombs were in the surrounding area which there were none. As the perpetrator, Hassan managed to escape, a manhunt now begins.

### Manhunt

Following Hassan's trail, he managed to escape Suceng following the chaos. Travelling eastward, his stolen Shenzhou LC ran out of fuel near the town of Fuxiang and stole another car on the 12th of February at a gas station. The car was a Shenzhou Borui before continueing his journey. He ended up at a checkpoint at the service station along the Su Province-Hu Province border.

### Arrest

After the police spotted him, he ran his car over two police officer at 14 February at 7:45 pm before losing control of the car and crashing into the barrier. He went to the local service station, armed. Police arrived at 7:50 pm and surrounded the building. He held about 5 people hostage in a convenient store. He demanded the return of the royal family.

After firing several shots, Hassan's gun was jammed resulting in him being arrested by the police. He was sent to trial where the jury determined that he would be sentenced to death for man slaughter despite the government claim that the court would sent him to rehabilitation.

## Aftermath

### Authorities

Following the attack, the area was cordoned off to the public and the government issued a curfew on the affect area and was lifted 2 days later. The East Market Street was closed off completely for vehicles and padestrians have to frisked. The bombing had affected several nearby businesses. Checkpoints were set up in highways and streets in major cities fearing of another attack.

Following the attack, the Suceng Police searched for further suspicious vehicles and found a car armed with a bomb in front of the Nanhan National Museum. The bomb was defused and the car was tolled away. The terrorist was arrested as well and claimed that the bomb was meant to explode at the same time but he forgot to arm it and had to return to the car after the first explosion.

By 1 March, the area had been cleared of debris and the road was reopened. As of 6 March many of the security measures remains in fear of further terrorist attack.

### Courts

Following the arrest of Hassan, the Judicuary of Nanhan stated that as Hassan was "brainwashed" by the previous regime so he would be "rehabilitated" back to a normal person. Many human rights activists were skeptical of the "rehabilitation". Due to public pressure to sentece him to death, we was subsequantly sentenced to death for manslaughter.

## Reactions

### Public

The entrance of the Lokasson Villa became the center of mourning, memorial and tributes and an impromptu memorial was also developed near the cordoned site of the attack. Following the attack, the sales of the Nanhan flag drastically increased.

As the initial ruling by the court was to send him to a rehabilitation center, many people in Nanhan were skeptical of the rehabilitation. A protest movement was soon created to simply sentence him to death which the courts gave in.