With a commemorative ceremony in front of the Monument to those who died in the fight against world terrorism in Karlovo, military personnel and citizens honored the memory of the five Bulgarians from the First Infantry Battalion who died 20 years ago in a terrorist attack against the "India" base in the Iraqi city of Karbala.

“We appreciate the efforts of our servicemen, their contribution to international peace and security and we bow deeply to the heroism and sacrifices we made in these operations and also to the dignified performance of the service in peacetime,” Minister of Defense Todor Tagarev said in his speech.

Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov pointed out that the names of all the men who lost their life in the execution of the mission in Iraq must be remembered.

In the period 2003 to 2008, a total of 13 Bulgarian servicemen died during operations in Iraq.