New Page! Yearly Terrorist Attacks

In my newest page, still under major construction, I will overview the worst terrorist attack of each year, dating back to the 1998 attacks in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  If you disagree with the event I choose, please comment with the event you believe was more important.

1998

Truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near the aforementioned U.S. embassies killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda 2 of whom had received training at al-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Osama bin Laden.

1999

The Russian apartment bombings were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing nearly 300 people.  They were quickly blamed by the Russian government on Chechen separatists, but the Chechen militants and secessionist authorities have denied their involvement in the bombing campaign. An official FSB investigation of the bombings was completed in 2002 and concluded that they were organized by Achemez Gochiyaev, who remains at large, and ordered by Islamist warlords Ibn Al-Khattab and Abu Omar al-Saif, who have been killed.

2000

In Aden, Yemen, al-Qaeda heavily damaged the U.S.S. Cole with a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it, killing 17 sailors.

2001

Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network attacks the twin towers of New York City, the Pentagon, and another plane landing in Shanksville, PA on September 11th.

2002

American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan is bombed, killing 12 and is linked to al-Qaeda

2003

In the hometown of Osama bin Laden, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, suicide bombers kill 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners.

2004

The events of late May and early June in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, taking foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.  Also, terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks.

2005

In Amman, Jordan, suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, killing 57 with al-Qaeda claiming responsibility.

2006

The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was an alleged terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board  airliners traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada. The plot was foiled by UK police before it could be carried out, and resulted in unprecedented security measures being immediately put in place. This sudden imposition caused chaos and delayed flights for days.  The restrictions were gradually relaxed in the following weeks, but the ability of passengers to carry liquids onto commercial aircraft is still limited.  Only 8 men (Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar, Tanvir Hussain, Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Khan, Waheed Zaman, Umar Islam, Mohammed Gulzar) were charged in connection with the plot. The trial began in April 2008, but didn’t pass any charges.

2007

The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack occurred on Saturday 30 June when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze. The attack occurred three days after the appointment of Glasgow-born Scottish MP Gordon Brown as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  Security bollards outside the entrance stopped the car from entering the terminal, although the doors were damaged. The car’s driver was severely burnt in the ensuing fire and five members of the public were also injured, none seriously. Some injuries were sustained by those assisting the police in detaining the occupants.

2008

The 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai were highlighted in two of my posts:

http://russwbeck.wordpress.com/2008/11/29/thanksgiving-in-mumbai/

http://russwbeck.wordpress.com/2008/12/11/mumbai-looking-back/

2009