Today in History: October 30, 2003 — UN pulls out staff from Iraq

2003 - The United Nations pulled staff out of Baghdad as international aid agencies debated whether they could continue operating in the face of a wave of suicide bomb attacks and persistent lawlessness. A UN spokeswoman in Geneva said foreign staff in Baghdad were leaving Iraq — temporarily at least for talks on security, following a bomb attack on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which killed 12 people. Iraq’s police chief appealed to foreign aid agencies not to evacuate despite the dangers. A fresh blast shook the Iraqi capital, killing at least one Iraqi and setting several buildings ablaze in the city’s old quarter. But a US Army spokesman said the blast was caused by a propane gas explosion rather than a bomb.

Other major events on October 30

1918 Czechoslovakia is proclaimed an independent republic.

1928 Experimental transmission of still photographs by television begins in Britain.

1961 The Soviet Union tests a hydrogen bomb with a force estimated at 58 megatons.

1963 Algeria and Morocco sign a peace agreement in a border dispute.

1973 The Bosphorus Bridge opens in Istanbul, Turkey.

1983 A powerful earthquake hits eastern Turkey killing more than 1,300 people in Erzurum and Kars provinces.

1993 Two gunmen open fire in a village pub in Northern Ireland, killing seven.

2008 A series of coordinated bomb blasts tears through Indian state of Assam, killing at least 61 people.

2010 A suicide bomber blows up in an Iraqi cafe near Baghdad, killing at least 30 people.

2012 Bahrain bans all rallies and public gatherings.

2013 A private bus travelling from Bengaluru catches fire in Mahboobnagar, Andhra Pradesh, killing 45 passengers.

2016 Earthquake destroys buildings in numerous places in central Italy.