MILNET: Chronology of Worldwide Terrorism

Major Terrorism Against U.S. Targets since 1997

Below we list a history of acts of terrorism, in the period 1968 through 1986. . A few of the major events since 1986 are included as well, but data is not complete from 1986 onward, as the volume of events has outpaced the author's ability to report on them. To make this point clear we also have compiled brief snapshots of terrorism since 1986 in the Terrfile . For more complete detail, the U.S. has been gathering and publishing details of attacks against U.S. citizens and property since 1995 and this data is published annually in the report, Patterns of Global Terrorism. Mirrored copies are available on MILNET.

Note that the majority of terrorism reported before 1980 occurred in or around Isarael and the Middle East. This is due to the fact that world terrorism spread from the Middle East as Arab and Jew continued their ancestorial struggles. The State of Israel considered Arab attacks on their kinsmen as an act of War, and not to be outdone, began their own retalitory acts of terror. Their own band of terrorist/assassins ran free until the crew accidentally killed some innocents, at which time the Israeli government reigned them in (see "The Hit Team #25 in the Milnet Bibliography.

Since then, Israeli retaliation has been in a more miltary fashion, with excursions into neighboring countries, seizing land to create buffer zones around them.

Today, the Gaza Strip and West Bank, a contentious holding of the Israelis has been the scenes of most of the Middle East violence over the last several decades.

However you will also note from the data below that Central Europe has also had their share of terrorism from Middle Eastern concerns.

The only country which has not faced an onslaught of Middle Eastern terrorism until rather recently has been the United States. The foirst World Trade Center explosions were attributed to a radical Jordanian Muslem group. And of course, the attacks on 9/11 marked the largest U.S. terrorist attack in our history and the most significant attack on the U.S. homeland since the War of 1812.

You will note a few instances where an act of violence is on the very gray edge of the line separating political violence versus terrorism... the difference being nearly indistinguishable at times. For instance, what were the motives of the assassin who took a shot at the Pope? Was it anti-catholicism, anti-Rome/anti-Italy, or just a nut case trying to get his moment of dubious "fame"?

Date Incident Type Dead Inj

??/??/68 El Al Hijack (PLO) 0 0 08/28/68 American Amb., Guatamala Drive by Assassination 1 0 08/29/69 TWA 840, Rome to Tel Aviv Hijack 0 ? 12/12/69 Piazza della Fontana,Milan Attack 14 80 Early 70 Bus with El Al passengers Grenade Attack 1 11 05/20/70 Childrens School Bus Bazooka Attack 12 19 09/16/70 Five Airliners Hijack/Bomb/Grenade ? ? El Al (Amsterdam-N.Y.) Sky Marshalls killed 1 TWA (Frankfurt-N.Y.) hijacker Air India (London-India) Pan Am (Amsterdam-N.Y.) 05/08/72 Belgian Sabena,Vienna-Isr. Hijack/Guns 1 4 05/30/72 Lod Airport Massacre Grenade/Machine Guns 26 76 08/??/72 El Al, Rome, Baggage Com. Bomb 0 0 09/05/72 Munich Massacre,Olympics Kidnap/Grenades/Guns 11 3
09/09/72 London, Israeli Counsel Letter Bomb 1 0
10/29/72 Lufthansa 615 Hijack 0 0
??/??/73 Victor Samuelson Kidnap/Ransom $14.2m 0 0
??/??/73 P.M. Carreo Blanco, Spain Assassination 1 0
04/24/73 Aeroflot Hijack/Explosion 2
05/04/73 Am. Consul Terry Leonhardy Kidnap 0 0
07/20/73 Japan Airlines Hijack/ Explosion 1 1
08/05/73 TWA Athens (on ground) Guns 5 55
12/12/73 Lufthansa (same grp above) Hijack 0 0
12/17/73 Pan Am Customs and plane Ground Attack 30 28
02/20/74 Air Vietnam Hijack/Explosion 3 6
05/14/74 Ma'alot, Israel, a home Takeover 3 0
05/??/74 Ma'alot, Israel, School Takeover 22 60
08/06/74 Locker Room, LAX Explosion 3 35
09/??/74 French Embassy, Hague Takeover 0 0
09/08/74 TWA Explosion 88
09/15/74 Air Vietnam Explosion 70
10/08/74 TWA (Israel-AThens) Explosion in air 80
10/31/74 Scheveningen Prison, Neth. Hostages 0 0
01/13/75 Paris Bazooka Attack 0 3
01/19/75 Paris Pistol/Grenade Attack 0 21
04/25/75 German Embassy, Stockholm Takeover 2 ?
06/03/75 Philippines Airlines Explosion 1 45
09/30/75 Maley Hungarian Airlines Explosion 64
10/04/75 Beirut Airport Machine Gun Attack 3 14
11/29/75 Dublin, Terminal Expolsions 1 5
12/??/75 Indonesian Consul, Amster. Takeover 3 0
12/??/75 OPEC Murders, Vienna Takeover, pistols 3 ?
12/29/75 New York Terminal Locker Explosions 11 54
01/01/76 Middle East Airlines Explosion 82
05/21/76 Phillippines Airlines Hijack/Explosion 13 14
05/25/76 Tel Aviv Customs Area Suitcase Explosion 2 10
06/27/76 Middle East Airline Rocket (GRD) 1 2
06/27/76 Air France Airbus, Entebbe Hijack 4 ?
07/02/76 Eastern Airlines Explosion 1
08/11/76 Istanbul Machine Gun/Grenade 4 17
12/14/76 Baghdad, Suitcase Explosion 3 100
10/06/76 Cubana Airlines Explosion 73
??/??/77 Hanns-Martin Schleyer Kidnap/Murder 1 -
03/26/77 Canary Islands, Wait. Rm. Explosion 0 8
04/23/77 Washington, D.C., Lock.Rm Explosion 1
05/29/77 Instanbul Baggage Area Explosion 5 24
10/16/77 Air Djibouti Ground Attack 2 2
12/04/77 Malaysian Airlines Hijacking/Crash 93
03/16/78 Aldo Moro Kidnap/Murder 2 0
05/20/78 Paris Machine Gun Attack 2 5
08/18/78 Philippines Airlines Explosion 1 3
08/28/78 El Al crew bus London Guns 1 1
09/03/78 Air Rhodesia Ground/Missile Attack 48
??/??/79 U.K., M.P. Airey Neave Car bomb 1
??/??/79 COM Europe Alexandar Haig Assassination Attempt 0 0
02/12/79 Air Rhodesia Ground/Missile Attack 59
04/03/79 Frankfurt, Cargo Area Explosion 0 10
04/16/79 Brussels Machine Gun/Grenade 0 17
04/26/79 Indian Airlines Explosion 0 8
07/29/79 Madrid, Baggage Area Explosion 1 9
11/04/79 American Embassy, Iran Takeover/Hostages 0 0
11/15/79 American Airlines Explosion 0 0
06/12/80 Paris, Locker Explosion 0 8
09/09/80 United Airlines Explosion 0 2
10/??/80 Munich Oktoberfest Bomb Attacks ? ?
12/??/80 Bar in Zarauz,Spain Attack 4 0
02/24/81 Rome Machine Gun Attack 0 5
05/??/81 Banco Central, Barcelona Hostages (200) 0 1
05/16/81 New York, Terminal Explosion 1
Summer 81 Pope John Paul Assassination Attempt 0 1
10/06/81 Anwar Sadat, Pres Egypt Shooting 1+ ?
10/13/81 Air Malta Explosion 2 8
11/12/81 Christian Chapmen Assassination Attempt 0 0
12/??/81 Brig. Gen. James Dozier,IT Kidnap and Release 0 0
12/12/81 Aeronica Explosion 2 8
??/??/82 Paris, 2 Am. Women, Rest. Machine Gun attack 2 0
01/16/82 Lt. Col. Robert Fay Assassination 1 0
02/08/82 Miraflores, Colombia Under Aircraft Expl. 1 4
07/17/82 Brazzaville Term., Congo Explosion 3 16
07/31/82 Munich Waiting Room Explosion 0 7
08/07/82 Ankara Machine Gun Attack 9 71
08/11/82 Pan Am Explosion 1 20
09/14/82 Bashir Gemayel, Pres Elect Assassination, Bomb 1+ ?
of Lebannon
04/18/83 US Embassy in Beirut Explosion 63 ?
??/??/83 Athens, Am. Naval Officer Assassination 1 0
09/30/83 Beirut, Am. Embassy Truck Bomb 17 ?
10/23/83 Beirut, Marine Barracks Truck Bomb 241 ?
07/15/83 Paris, Suitcase Explosion 7 56
09/11/83 Korean Airlines Shot Down 269
09/23/83 Gulf Air Explosion 112
??/??/84 Rome, Leamon Hunt, UN D.G. Assassination 1 0
01/18/84 Air France Explosion 0 0
03/10/84 Union Des Transport (UTA) Explosion 0 24
04/08/84 Las Vegas Shooting 1 2
04/24/84 London, Baggage Area Explosion 0 25
05/??/84 CIA Sta. Ch. Bill Buckley Kidnapped
08/02/84 Madras, Suitcase Explosion 40 19
08/31/84 Kabol, Departure Lounge Explosion 27 200
12/??/84 NATO Trng School, W. Germ. Bomb Attempt 0 0
12/??/84 Six attacks Am. in Germ. Bombings ? ?
U.S. Army Motor Pool
U.S. Military Church
Lindsay A.S., Weisbaden
USAF Com Stn.,Weisbaden
USAF Int. Off.,Dusseldorf
??/??/85 Lebanon, 4 Soviets Kidnap/murder 1 0
01/??/85 US Consul, Frankfurt Attack ? ?
02/??/85 Bobby's Bar,Greece,US sold Bomb 0 70
03/??/85 Am. Off. Club, Stuttgart Bomb (dud) 0 0
04/??/85 Brussels, NATO office Bomb ? ?
05/28/85 David Jacobsen, Dir Hosp. Kidnapped, Hizbollah 0 0
06/14/85 TWA 847, 17 day TV vigil Hijack/Shooting 1 2
08/08/85 Wing HQ, Rein-Main AB, Ger Car bomb 2 25 *1
09/04/85 Pan Am Aircraft on Ground Shooting, 5 attackers 31 ?
10/07/85 Achille Lauro Ship Hijack 1 3
11/85 PX, Frankfurt, Germany Car Bomb ? ? *1
12/27/85 Rome Airport Bomb ? ?
12/27/85 Vienna Airport Bomb ? ?
11/23/85 EgyptAir Hijack ? ?
02/03/86 Paris, Champs-Elysees Bomb 0 8
02/03/86 Paris, Eiffel Tower Bomb (diffussed) 0 0
02/04/86 Paris, bookstore Bomb ? ?
02/05/86 Paris, Forum des Halles Bomb ? ?
02/06/86 Paris, Bomb Scares (80)
02/06/86 Adm. Christobal Colon, Spn Assassination/MG/Gren. 2 0
03/20/86 Paris, Champs-Elysee Bomb 2 28
04/02/86 TWA 840 in air Airline Bomb 4 ?
04/05/86 West Berlin Disco Bomb 2 200
1989? Pan Am, Lockerbie, Scot. Airline Bomb 140 0
02/28/93 World Trade Center, N.Y. Car Bomb 7 15
04/19/95 Oklahoma Fed Building Car Bomb >100 >100
07/27/95 Paris France Bomb 7? ?
11/13/95 OPM-SNG, Riyadh SauArabia Car Bomb 6 60+ *1

Notes: *1 From Kirk Rains, witness in official capacity during the incidents.

Early terrorist activities gleaned from:

and

"The War Against Terrorists, How to Win It", Gayle Rivers, Stein and Day (1986), Charter Books, 1987, The Berkeley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y., 10016, Copyright 1986, Littopus S.A.

Information verified by supplemental from research in periodicals, and other non-fiction sources including:

"VEIL: The Secret Wars of the CIA", Bob Woodward, Copyright 1987, Simon and Schuster, Simon & Schuster Building, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10020. ISBN 0-671-60117-2

Also used were many of the titles listed in the MILNET Bibilography and real time events as they happen around the world (the author's personal knowlege or interpretation of news coverage).

milnet@milnet.com
Originally Created: July 29, 1985
Minor Updates on July 20, 2005