It
seems that terrorism goes back to even 2000 years ago when a Jewish
extremist group tried to expel the Romans and their sympathizers at the
beginning of the 1st century AD with the use of daggers hidden in their
cloaks, hence the name “sicarii,” which means “dagger.” In a public
gathering, the zealots pulled their daggers to attack not only the
Romans and their sympathizers, but all Jewish collaborators including
the Herodians and Sadducees.
Popularly
known as ‘The Terror,’ this was an era of violence that started on
September 5, 1793 and ended only on July 28, 1794 during the French
Revolution. The conflict between the Girondins and the Jacobins had
resulted in mass executions including the death of 16, 594 people under
the guillotine. This is also the first time that the word “terrorist”
was used by Edmund Burke in 1795.
Orsini
was an Italian revolutionary leader of the “Carbonari” who attempted to
assassinate the French Emperor Napoleon III on January 14, 1858 while
he and the Empress Eugénie de Montijo were on their way to the theater
by throwing three bombs at the royal carriage. The incident resulted in
the death of 8 bystanders while injuring 142 more. He was also a
conspirator involved in dethroning the pope and attempted to assassinate
Napoleon III believing that he was a major impediment to Italian
independence. Interestingly enough his terrorist acts inspired the first
Russian terrorist groups.
A
terrorist attack that was centered in the Financial District of New
York, this happened on September 16, 1920 and killed 38 people while
injuring 400 more resulting in $2 million in damages. The attack
involved a horse-drawn wagon containing 45 kg of dynamite with 230 kg of
slugs detonating and instantly killing the brokers, clerks, messengers
and stenographers working in the area and destroying the interior of the
JP Morgan building. The crime was never solved though it was believed
that the group behind it was the Italian anarchist Galleanists who were
responsible for a series of bombings that year. It was also tied to
labor struggles, postwar social unrest and anti-capitalist aggression.
The
assault happened on April 16, 1925 when a group of the Bulgarian
Communist Party (BCP) blew up the dome of the St. Nedelya Church during
the wake of General Konstantin Georgiev, who was assassinated just two
days prior by the same group while heading for an evening mass at the
Sofia church. It killed 150 people, a majority of them prominent
government and military officials, with 500 people wounded. The attack
was carried out by the Military Organization (MO) of the BCP who were
tasked to carry out isolated attacks with 25 kg of explosives mounted in
a package above one the columns of the main dome at the south entrance
of the church set to detonate with a 15-m long cable to allow the
attackers a chance to escape.
On
July 22, 1946, the rebellious right-wing Zionist group, Irgun, carried
out an offensive against the British by bombing the British
Administrative Headquarters for Palestine, which was housed at the King
David Hotel. This terrorist campaign concluded with the death of 91
people from various nationalities and injured 46 others. This is
considered the deadliest terrorist attack to occur during the British
Mandate era from 1920 to 1948.
The
arson, which happened in a cinema in Abadan, Iran on August 19, 1978
cost the lives of 470 individuals, most of them unidentified due to the
extent of the burns. When an Iranian newspaper reported that it was
started by radical Islamists, it was shut down by the Islamic
government, however, it was later found out that anti-Shah militants
were behind the fire.
This
terrorist act, which occurred from November 20, 1979 to December 5,
1979, was a takeover by the Islamists dissidents of Mecca, the holiest
place in Islam. The insurgents’ leader, Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani,
declared that he is the “Mahdi” or “redeemer” of Islam and all the
Muslims should obey him. Hundreds of pilgrims who were present for the
annual “hajj” were taken as hostages and a number of them were killed
along with the rebels in the crossfire that ensued for the control of
the site. The siege ended with the death of 255 pilgrims and militants
with 500 injured.
One
of the major acts of terrorism in the 1980s, the event happened on
October 23, 1983 at the height of the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck
bombs exploded near the housing of US and French military forces. The
attack against the multinational forces in Lebanon was claimed by the
organization Islamic Jihad, the nom de guere for Hezbollah who was
receiving help from the Islam Republic of Iran. The explosives, which
were equivalent to 5400 kg of TNT, resulted in the deadliest single-day
death toll for the US Marine Corps with casualties that included 241
servicemen.
Also
known as the ‘Lockerbie Bombing,’ this event happened on December 21,
1988 in a Pan Am transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport on
its way to JFK International Airport in New York. The Boeing 747-121,
“Clipper Maid of the Seas,” exploded killing all 243 passengers aboard
as well as its 16 crewmembers before it crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland
killing 11 more on the ground. A three-year joint investigation of the
Scottish police and the US FBI resulted in the arrest of 2 Libyan
nationals who were handed over by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Gaddafi also paid compensation to the victims’ families, though
maintaining that he did not personally order the attack which resulted
in more conspiracy theories.
This
tragic terrorist attack involved 13 bomb explosions in Bombay (now
Mumbai), India. The assault on March 12, 1993 resulted in the death of
270 civilians with 700 more wounded. Organized by Dawood Ibrahim, the
“don” of the crime syndicate D-Company, it was carried out as an act of
vengeance against the widespread Muslim massacre from December to
January and the destruction of the Babri Masjid.
The
deadliest act of terrorism in the US before the 9-11 attacks, the
bombing that occurred on April 19, 1995 in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building, an office complex in Oklahoma claimed the lives of 168 people,
19 of which are children below 6 years old, and left 800 more wounded.
It also caused damaged to 324 buildings within a 16-block radius, burned
86 cars, shattered the windowpanes of nearby 258 buildings, resulting
in $652 million worth of damages. The perpetrator, Timothy McVeigh, was
put to death by lethal injection in 2001.
Also
known as the “Bentalha Massacre,” this tragic event happened on
September 22 to 23, 1997 when armed guerrillas stormed the village and
killed 200 to 400 of its inhabitants. It started with an explosion near
the orange groves in the Hai el-Djilali neighborhood at about 11:30 pm
followed by assailants armed with machine guns, machetes, and hunting
rifles going from house to house and slaughtering men, women, and
children. This monstrosity was claimed by the Armed Islamic Group, who
was also responsible for other massacres including that of the Hais
Rais.
This
is a series of terrorist attacks on US Embassies in the East African
cities of Nairobi, and Dar es Slaam on August 7, 1998, which was the 8th
anniversary of the arrival of US forces in Saudi Arabia. The truck bomb
explosions were linked to the local terrorist group of al Qaeda, headed
by Osama bin Laden. The trucks, which were laden with 3 to 17 tons of
high explosive materials detonated simultaneously, with over 200 dead
and thousands wounded as a result. Though it was directed at American
facilities, most of the victims were local citizens with only 12
Americans casualties.
The
Karachi bombing on October 18, 2007 happened on the day former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto was welcomed home after an 8-year self-imposed
exile in Dubai and London. The blasts occurred during a motorcade on
their way from the airport to the tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Three
police vans bore the impact of the explosions killing 20 policemen
instantly and resulting in the death of 139 people, most of whom were
members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Considered
the deadliest acts of terrorism ever in the history of Indonesia, this
tragic event occurred on October 12, 2002 in the tourist district of
Kuta. It resulted in the deaths of 202 people, including 38 locals. The
attacks on local nightclubs were carried out by some members of the
Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist Islamist group, with the use of two bombs
placed in a backpack carried by suicide bombers and a car bomb while a
third bomb exploded in the US Embassy in Denpasar.
Also
known as “11-M” this is considered the most tragic terrorist attack in
Europe, occurring on March 11, 2004. The series of synchronized bombings
on the Cercania commuter train in Madrid were believed to be headed by
an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist group. The explosions, which were just
three days short of the general elections in Spain killed nearly 200
people.
The
world’s deadliest terrorist attack at sea happened on February 27, 2004
and resulted in the sinking of SuperFerry 14, 90 minutes after it
sailed from the port of Manila on its way to Cagayan de Oro City.
Perpetrated by an Islamist terrorist group, it concluded in the death of
116 people. Believed to be an accident at first, investigations later
revealed that a television set with 4 kg of TNT was the cause of the
explosion. Though various terrorists groups claimed the tragedy, it was
found out that it was the Abu Sayyaf, who was behind this atrocity.
On
July 7, 2005, a series of 3 explosions was heard aboard the London
Underground trains across the city, while the fourth one exploded in a
double-decker in Tavistock Square. The attacks, which happened the day
after the city was chosen to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, were caused
by homemade organic-peroxide-based devices that were packed into
backpacks carried by suicide bombers. The 57-minute attack concluded
with the death of 52 civilians and 4 suicide bombers, while injuring 700
more.
This
November 23, 2006 attack involved a series of car bombs and two mortar
attacks. One of the most tragic terrorist attacks in Baghdad at least
215 people perished while 257 others were wounded. Having targeted the
Shi’ite Muslim slums in the city, it resulted in a 24-hour curfew and
the shutdown of the Baghdad International Airport. The Shi’ite Muslims
also retaliated by burning 6 Sunni Arabs alive with kerosene.
On
July 11, 2006, a series of 7 bomb blasts was heard on the Suburban
Railway in Mumbai, which resulted in the death of 209 people and wounded
714 others. The bombs, which were inside pressure cookers to increase
the after-burn thermobaric reaction were placed in the first-class
compartments and exploded during the afternoon work rush-hour. Carried
out by the Lshkar-e-Talba and the Students Islamic Movement of Inida
(SIMI), it was in retaliation to the perceived oppression of the Muslim
minorities in the regions of Gujarat and Kashmir.
One
in the never-ending atrocities in Iraq, this terrorist attacks involved
5 car bombs that exploded across the city of Baghdad on April 18, 2007.
This violence, which targeted the civilians in Shia that was still
being rebuilt at that time, was reminiscent of the conflicts before the
Iraqi capital was secured. With nearly 200 casualties, it came just as
the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that the Iraqi forces
would assume control of the country’s security at the end of the year.
This
terrorist attack was committed against Shia Muslims, who were on their
way to a pilgrim in Al Hillah on March 6, 2007. Two suicide bombers
donning explosive vests mingled with the crowd who were celebrating a
traditional festival. It claimed the lives of nearly 200 people.
The
second deadliest attacks ever committed after 9-11, it happened on
August 14, 2007 when four corresponding suicide bombs exploded in the
towns of Yazidi and Jazeera. The most deadly car bomb assault under
major US combat operations, it had estimated casualties of 796 while 1,
562 people were injured. The two tons of explosives that the 3 cars and a
fuel tanker carried crumbled buildings, trapping everyone beneath,
while others wrecked and flattened entire neighborhoods.
On September 11, 2001, a succession of four coordinated assaults was launched by the al-Queda in the New York City and Washington DC areas. Four planes were hijacked by 19 men and two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, collided into the north and south towers of the NYC World Trade Center, which collapsed within two hours and led to the destruction of nearby buildings as well. The third plane, American Flight 77, targeted the Pentagon in Virginia while the last one, United Airlines Flight 93 whose aim was the Capitol in DC, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when the passengers tried to overpower the hijackers. These catastrophic events led to the deaths of 3,000 people
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