List of terrorist incidents, 1972
Encyclopedia
This is a timeline of incidents in 1972 that have been labelled as "terrorism
" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government
or its forces (see state terrorism
and state-sponsored terrorism
).
, January 26: Yugoslavian Airlines Flight 364
is brought down by an explosion. Officially a bomb was placed on the plane by Ustasa agents, but speculation exists that the plane was downed by two Czechoslovak SA-12 surface-to-air missiles because it has entered a restricted military area without permission. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9
airplane is destroyed and 27 of 28 passengers die. One stewardess survives a 10,160 meter (33,330 ft) drop., January 27: Two policemen, Gregory Foster and Rocco Laurie, are shot in the back by at least three persons; four suspects in the case are members of the Black Liberation Army
; one suspect is later killed in a street battle with St. Louis police; the recovered pistol matches Laurie's., February 19: A stand off between five Japanese United Red Army and Japanese police, riot controller begin taking the 31-year-old wife has hostaged lodge house at Karuizawa. Aftermath, nine-days, the Japanese authorities attempt to rescue a female hostage ends with a standoff between five Japanese United Red Army and the authorities, in which two policemen are killed and 12 injured., February 22: The Official Irish Republican Army kills seven civilians in Aldershot
after it bombs a British Army military barracks., April 4: Cuban official Sergio Pérez Castillo is killed by an explosion at the Cuban consulate at Montreal.,
Israel, May 8: Four PLO terrorists hijacked the aeroplane of Sabena Flight 572 carrying 99 passengers and ten crew members on route from Brussels
to Tel Aviv
. In a mission titled "Operation Isotope", 16 members of Sayeret Matkal
posed as refueling and technical personnel and stormed the plane, killing the terrorists and releasing the passengers., May 30: Lod Airport Massacre
by the Japanese Red Army
terrorists, killing 26 and injuring 78., May 31: A group of Carabinieri
fell into an ambush in Savogna d'Isonzo
, Italy
: a Car bomb
Fiat 500
killed 3 officers and other 2 were injured. The attack was carried out by militants of Ordine Nuovo
. , July 21: Bloody Friday
nine are killed and 130 injured as Provisional Irish Republican Army
(IRA) sets off 22 bombs., July 31: Claudy bombings; three car bombs are detonated in Claudy
, killing nine people. No group has claimed responsibility.,
West Germany, September 5: Black September
kidnaps and kills eleven Israel
i Olympic
athletes and one German
policeman in the Munich Massacre
., , September 19: The group Black September
post a letter bomb to the Israeli embassy in London
killing an Israeli diplomat., October 27: Police car bombing in Los Angeles
claimed by Black Liberation Army
., December 1972: A travel agency in Queens, New York
, is bombed; the incident is attributed to FIN, a Cuban exile
groups opposed to the government of Fidel Castro
., December 11: New York City. The VA-Cuba Forwarding Company is bombed. Cuban exile
groups opposed to the government of Fidel Castro
suspected., December 28: A Brooklyn
, New York
bartender is held for $12000 ransom by the Black Liberation Army
.
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
or its forces (see state terrorism
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
and state-sponsored terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism is a term used to describe terrorism sponsored by nation-states. As with terrorism, the precise definition, and the identification of particular examples, are subjects of heated political dispute...
).
, January 26: Yugoslavian Airlines Flight 364
JAT Flight 364
JAT Yugoslav Airlines Flight 367 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 aircraft which exploded shortly after overflying NDB Hermsdorf, East Germany, while en route from Stockholm to Belgrade on 26 January 1972...
is brought down by an explosion. Officially a bomb was placed on the plane by Ustasa agents, but speculation exists that the plane was downed by two Czechoslovak SA-12 surface-to-air missiles because it has entered a restricted military area without permission. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.The DC-9 was followed in subsequent modified forms by...
airplane is destroyed and 27 of 28 passengers die. One stewardess survives a 10,160 meter (33,330 ft) drop., January 27: Two policemen, Gregory Foster and Rocco Laurie, are shot in the back by at least three persons; four suspects in the case are members of the Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
; one suspect is later killed in a street battle with St. Louis police; the recovered pistol matches Laurie's., February 19: A stand off between five Japanese United Red Army and Japanese police, riot controller begin taking the 31-year-old wife has hostaged lodge house at Karuizawa. Aftermath, nine-days, the Japanese authorities attempt to rescue a female hostage ends with a standoff between five Japanese United Red Army and the authorities, in which two policemen are killed and 12 injured., February 22: The Official Irish Republican Army kills seven civilians in Aldershot
1972 Aldershot Bombing
The Aldershot bombing was a car bomb attack by the Official Irish Republican Army on 22 February 1972 in Aldershot, England. The bomb targeted the headquarters of the British Army's 16th Parachute Brigade and was claimed as a revenge attack for Bloody Sunday. Seven civilian staff were killed and...
after it bombs a British Army military barracks., April 4: Cuban official Sergio Pérez Castillo is killed by an explosion at the Cuban consulate at Montreal.,
Israel, May 8: Four PLO terrorists hijacked the aeroplane of Sabena Flight 572 carrying 99 passengers and ten crew members on route from BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. In a mission titled "Operation Isotope", 16 members of Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal is a special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces , which is subordinated to the intelligence directorate Aman. First and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines to obtain strategic intelligence, Sayeret Matkal is also...
posed as refueling and technical personnel and stormed the plane, killing the terrorists and releasing the passengers., May 30: Lod Airport Massacre
Lod Airport massacre
The Lod Airport massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on May 30, 1972, in which three members of the Japanese Red Army, on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , killed 26 people and injured 80 others at Tel Aviv's Lod airport...
by the Japanese Red Army
Japanese Red Army
The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
terrorists, killing 26 and injuring 78., May 31: A group of Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
fell into an ambush in Savogna d'Isonzo
Savogna d'Isonzo
Savogna d'Isonzo is a comune in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 35 km northwest of Trieste and about 3 km southwest of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia. It is located at the conjunctions Kras Plateau and the Vipava Valley. The vast...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
: a Car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
Fiat 500
Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
killed 3 officers and other 2 were injured. The attack was carried out by militants of Ordine Nuovo
Ordine Nuovo
Ordine Nuovo , full name Centro Studi Ordine Nuovo, "New Order Scholarship Center") was an Italian far right cultural and extra-parliamentary political and terrorist organization founded by Pino Rauti in 1956...
. , July 21: Bloody Friday
Bloody Friday
Bloody Friday can refer to various events in history that occurred on a Friday:*Bloody Friday , also known as the Battle of George Square.*Bloody Friday...
nine are killed and 130 injured as Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
(IRA) sets off 22 bombs., July 31: Claudy bombings; three car bombs are detonated in Claudy
Claudy
Claudy is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. Claudy is located in the Faughan Valley....
, killing nine people. No group has claimed responsibility.,
West Germany, September 5: Black SeptemberBlack September (group)
The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
kidnaps and kills eleven Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
athletes and one German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
policeman in the Munich Massacre
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
.,
, September 19: The group Black SeptemberBlack September (group)
The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
post a letter bomb to the Israeli embassy in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
killing an Israeli diplomat., October 27: Police car bombing in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
claimed by Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
., December 1972: A travel agency in Queens, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, is bombed; the incident is attributed to FIN, a Cuban exile
Cuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
groups opposed to the government of Fidel Castro
Opposition to Fidel Castro
The Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is "to replace the current regime with a more democratic form of government". According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political dissent....
., December 11: New York City. The VA-Cuba Forwarding Company is bombed. Cuban exile
Cuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
groups opposed to the government of Fidel Castro
Opposition to Fidel Castro
The Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is "to replace the current regime with a more democratic form of government". According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political dissent....
suspected., December 28: A Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
bartender is held for $12000 ransom by the Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
.