Timeline of al-Qaeda attacks
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of attacks which have been allegedly carried out by Al-Qaeda
.
, Yemen. That evening, a bomb went off at the Gold Mohur hotel, where U.S. troops had been staying while en-route to Somalia
, though the troops had already left when the bomb exploded. The bombers targeted a second hotel, the Aden Movenpick, where they believed American troops might also be staying. That bomb detonated prematurely in the hotel car park, around the same time as the other bomb explosion, killing two Australian tourists. Bin Laden later claimed that he and Isthibshar irfan was responsible for the 1992 Yemen attack.So Sri Lankan police team was chasing the suspects, while they were escaping in Mohommad Iraham's fathers' threewheeler to the local mulla station situated in Nawala.
occurred on February 26, 1993, when Ramzi Yousef parked a rented van full of explosives in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center. The explosion claimed six victims, and over one thousand people were wounded. Ramzi Yousef
, the nephew of 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, had trained in Afghanistan, although Khalid Sheikh Mohammed did not join Al Qaeda until 1998. Yousef worked in cooperation with the blind sheikh Abdul Rahman who was living across the Hudson, in Jersey City, at the time of the attack. The FBI later turned up evidence that Osama bin Laden
provided financial support to the blind sheikh.Omar Abdul-Rahman.
and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (prior to joining with Al Qaeda) planned Operation Bojinka, a plot to destroy airplanes in mid-Pacific flight using explosives. They tested their attacks in November 1994 on the Philippine Airlines Flight 434
, which also involved Abu Sayyaf
(a Southeast Asia affiliate of Al Qaeda). An apartment fire in Manila, Philippines exposed the plan before it could be carried out. Yousef was arrested, but Mohammed evaded capture until 2003.
, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam
, Tanzania, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 5,000 others.
against U.S. and Israel
i tourists visiting Jordan
for millennial celebrations; however, Jordan
ian authorities thwarted the planned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial. Part of this plot included the planned bombing of LAX, but this plot was foiled when bomber Ahmed Ressam
was caught at the US-Canadian border with explosives in the trunk of his car. Al-Qaeda also planned to attack the USS The Sullivans
on January 3, 2000, but the effort failed due to too much weight being put on the small boat meant to bomb the ship.
Despite the setback with the USS The Sullivans, al-Qaeda succeeded in bombing a U.S. warship in October 2000 with the USS Cole bombing
.
German police foiled a plot to bomb the Christmas market
near the Strasbourg Cathedral
in Strasbourg
, France in December 2000.
. These attacks destroyed the World Trade Center
and damaged the Pentagon
and crashed another plane in a series of suicide hijacking of airplanes. Osama bin Laden
did take credit for the attacks days before the 2004 Presidential Election
.
on the Indonesia
n island of Bali
. The attack was the deadliest act of terrorism
in the history of Indonesia
, killing 202 people, (including 88 Australia
ns, and 38 Indonesian citizens). A further 240 people were injured.
, 911 days after the 9/11 attacks. However, the group did not claim any responsibility of this attack.
attacks were a series of terror attacks on July 23, 2005, perpetrated by an Islamist organization, targeting the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
in the same night leaving 60 people dead and hundreds injured.
claimed to have been responsible for the April 11, 2007 Algiers bombings
. Two bombs exploded within a short time of each other, one at the prime ministers office and the other at a police station. The blasts killed 33 people. It was the first time a bombing had occurred in the capital in more than a decade.
claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan on June 2, 2008. A car bomb killed six people and injured several. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a high-ranking member of Al-Qaeda, issued a statement after the bombing, claiming that the attack was a response to the 2005 publication of the Muhammed Cartoons.
convert Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad
opened fire in a drive-by shooting
on a United States military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas
, killing one US soldier and wounding another. At the time he stated that the act was "for the sake of Allah
, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military" and law enforcement authorities concluded "there doesn't appear to be a wider conspiracy or, at this point in time, any indication that he's a part of a larger group or a conspiracy". However he later professed that he had conducted a "Jihad
i attack" as part of Al Qaeda.
in the December 25, 2009 bombing attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253
, the suspect reportedly told officials he had traveled to Yemen for training by Al-Qaeda, although British counterterrorism officials dismissed the claims. President Barack Obama's top security official Janet Napolitano on December 27 stated "Right now we have no indication it's part of anything larger", warning it would be "inappropriate to speculate" that Al-Qaeda had sent Abdulmutallab on a suicide mission. On December 28, President Obama called it an "attempted terrorist attack" and promised to "to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us, whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia...". That same day, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack. The group released photos of Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
smiling in a white shirt and white Islamic skullcap with the Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula banner in the background. On January 8, 2010, President Barack Obama took responsibility for security lapses exposed by the attack, declaring in televised remarks "We are at war against Al-Qaeda", noting "our adversaries will seek new ways to evade them, as was shown by the Christmas attack" By February 2010, the suspect told federal investigators that cleric Anwar al-Awlaki
gave him orders to carry out the attack. Al-Jazeera reported that Awlaki issued a statement that "Brother mujahed Umar Farouk – may God relieve him – is one of my students, yes... We had kept in contact, but I didn't issue a fatwa to Umar Farouk for this operation,".
An Al-Qaeda
agent posing as a double agent killed 7 CIA officers in the 2009 Khost CIA bombing on December 4, 2008. The Jordanian man, thought to be an American asset penetrating Al-Qaeda was brought in the wire of the camp and detonated an explosive belt, killing 7 CIA, 1 Jordanian intelligence officer, and seriously wounding six others.
s and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia
's security chief. They were bound from Yemen
to the United States, and were discovered at en route stop-overs, in England and in Dubai
in the United Arab Emirates
.
One week later, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP) took responsibility for the plot. U.S. and British authorities had believed that AQAP, and specifically Anwar al-Awlaki
, were behind the bombing attempts. They also believed the bombs were most likely constructed by AQAP's main explosives expert, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri.
was the detonation of two car bombs outside of the Shia Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf on August 29, 2003
was a series of planned terrorist
explosion
s that killed at least 178 and injured at least 500 Iraq
i Shi'a Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura
. The bombings brought one of the deadliest days in the Iraq occupation after the Iraq War
to topple Saddam Hussein
.
were a series of more than a dozen terrorist attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
were suicide attacks on two Shia mosques in Khanaqin, Iraq.
was a triple suicide bombing that occurred on April 7, 2006 in Baghdad.
attacks in Iraq
that began on 23 November at 15:10 Baghdad
time (12:10 Greenwich Mean Time) and ended at 15:55 (12:55 GMT). Six car bomb
s and two mortar
rounds were used in the attack on the Shi'ite
Muslim
slum in Sadr City
.
was the detonation of a large truck bomb in a busy market in the Iraq
i capital of Baghdad
on 3 February 2007. The suicide attack killed at least 135 people and injured 339 others.
took place on March 27, 2007, when two truck bombs targeted Shia areas of the town of Tal Afar
, Iraq
, killing 152 and wounding 347 people.
s exploded across Baghdad
, the capital city of Iraq
, on 18 April 2007, killing nearly 200 people.
attacks detonated in the Kurdish
towns of Qahtaniya and Jazeera (Siba Sheikh Khidir), near Mosul
. Iraqi Red Crescent's estimates say the bombs killed 796 and wounded 1,562 people, making this the Iraq War's most deadly car bomb attack during the period of major American combat operations.
, Iraq
which killed 155 people and injured at least 721 people.
were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq that killed at least 85 people over two days.
were a series of bomb and shooting attacks that occurred in Iraq on 10 May 2010, killing over 100 people and injuring 350, the highest death toll for a single day in Iraq in 2010.
were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed more than 110 people.
were a series of three consecutive suicide bombings in Iraq which left at least 133 dead.
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
.
Early 1990s
On December 29, 1992, the first attack by Al Qaeda was carried out in AdenAden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
, Yemen. That evening, a bomb went off at the Gold Mohur hotel, where U.S. troops had been staying while en-route to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, though the troops had already left when the bomb exploded. The bombers targeted a second hotel, the Aden Movenpick, where they believed American troops might also be staying. That bomb detonated prematurely in the hotel car park, around the same time as the other bomb explosion, killing two Australian tourists. Bin Laden later claimed that he and Isthibshar irfan was responsible for the 1992 Yemen attack.So Sri Lankan police team was chasing the suspects, while they were escaping in Mohommad Iraham's fathers' threewheeler to the local mulla station situated in Nawala.
February 1993 World Trade Center
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
occurred on February 26, 1993, when Ramzi Yousef parked a rented van full of explosives in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center. The explosion claimed six victims, and over one thousand people were wounded. Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
, the nephew of 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, had trained in Afghanistan, although Khalid Sheikh Mohammed did not join Al Qaeda until 1998. Yousef worked in cooperation with the blind sheikh Abdul Rahman who was living across the Hudson, in Jersey City, at the time of the attack. The FBI later turned up evidence that Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
provided financial support to the blind sheikh.Omar Abdul-Rahman.
1994 Bojinka, Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Ramzi YousefRamzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...
and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (prior to joining with Al Qaeda) planned Operation Bojinka, a plot to destroy airplanes in mid-Pacific flight using explosives. They tested their attacks in November 1994 on the Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was the route designator of a flight from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Pasay City, the Philippines, to New Tokyo International Airport , Narita near Tokyo, Japan, with one stop at Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Cebu, the Philippines.On December 11, 1994...
, which also involved Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...
(a Southeast Asia affiliate of Al Qaeda). An apartment fire in Manila, Philippines exposed the plan before it could be carried out. Yousef was arrested, but Mohammed evaded capture until 2003.
1998 U.S.-embassy bombings
In August 1998, Al-Qaeda operatives carried out the bombings of the U.S. embassies in NairobiNairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, Tanzania, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 5,000 others.
2000 USS Cole bombing
In December 1999 and into 2000, al-Qaeda planned attacks2000 millennium attack plots
The Year 2000 attack plots were terrorist attacks planned to occur on or near January 1, 2000: the bombing of four sites in Jordan, the bombing of Los Angeles International Airport , and the bombing of the USS The Sullivans. The first two plots were foiled by law enforcement agencies; the third was...
against U.S. and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i tourists visiting Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
for millennial celebrations; however, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian authorities thwarted the planned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial. Part of this plot included the planned bombing of LAX, but this plot was foiled when bomber Ahmed Ressam
Ahmed Ressam
Ahmed Ressam is an Algerian al-Qaeda member who lived in Montreal, Canada.He was convicted of attempting to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999, as part of the foiled 2000 millennium attack plots...
was caught at the US-Canadian border with explosives in the trunk of his car. Al-Qaeda also planned to attack the USS The Sullivans
USS The Sullivans (DDG-68)
USS The Sullivans , an Arleigh Burke-class "Aegis" guided missile destroyer, is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the five Sullivan brothers — George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan, aged 20 to 27 — who lost their lives when their ship, USS...
on January 3, 2000, but the effort failed due to too much weight being put on the small boat meant to bomb the ship.
Despite the setback with the USS The Sullivans, al-Qaeda succeeded in bombing a U.S. warship in October 2000 with the USS Cole bombing
USS Cole bombing
The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured...
.
German police foiled a plot to bomb the Christmas market
Strasbourg cathedral bombing plot
The Strasbourg Cathedral bombing plot was an al-Qaeda plan to bomb the Strasbourg Christmas market at the feet of Strasbourg Cathedral during the Christmas celebrations of 2000...
near the Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely consideredSusan Bernstein: , The Johns Hopkins University Press to be among the finest...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France in December 2000.
- Rizal Day BombingsRizal Day bombingsThe Rizal Day bombings, also referred to as the December 30 bombings, were a series of bombings that occurred around Metro Manila in the Philippines on December 30, 2000. The explosions occurred in close succession within a span of a few hours...
in the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
(2000)
September 11, 2001, attacks
The most destructive act ascribed to al-Qaeda was the series of attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. These attacks destroyed the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and damaged the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
and crashed another plane in a series of suicide hijacking of airplanes. Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
did take credit for the attacks days before the 2004 Presidential Election
2004 presidential election
The 2004 presidential election may refer to:* Afghan presidential election, 2004* Algerian presidential election, 2004* Austrian presidential election, 2004* Dominican Republic presidential election, 2004* Georgia presidential election, 2004...
.
October 2002 Bali bombings
The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of KutaKuta
Kuta is administratively a district and subdistrict/village in southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist development, and as a beach resort remains one of Indonesia's major tourist destinations...
on the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n island of Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
. The attack was the deadliest act of terrorism
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...
in the history of Indonesia
History of Indonesia
The History of Indonesia was shaped by its geographic position, its natural resources, the series of human migrations, contacts, economy and trade, conquests and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,508 islands stretching along the equator in South East Asia...
, killing 202 people, (including 88 Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
ns, and 38 Indonesian citizens). A further 240 people were injured.
November 2003 Istanbul attacks
The 2003 Istanbul bombings were four truck bomb attacks carried out on November 15, 2003 and November 20, 2003, in Istanbul, Turkey, leaving 57 people dead, and 700 wounded. Several men have been convicted for their involvement.February 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing
The 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing on February 27, 2004, was an Islamic terrorist attack that resulted in the sinking of the ferry SuperFerry 14 and the deaths of 116 people in the Philippines.March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings
It is thought that al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing of the Madrid commuter train systemMadrid bombings
Madrid bombings may refer to:-* the 1974 Cafetería Rolando bombing* the 1985 El Descanso bombing* the 1986 Plaza República Dominicana bombing* the 1993 Madrid bombings, an ETA attack which killed six people* the 1995 Vallecas attack...
, 911 days after the 9/11 attacks. However, the group did not claim any responsibility of this attack.
May 2004 Khobar massacre
Al-Qaeda is believed to have been responsible for the 2004 Khobar massacre, carried out on May 29, 2004.July 7, 2005 London transport bombings
Four members of Al-Qaeda, three of British Pakistani descent and one of British Jamaican descent attacked Londons public transport on July 7, 2005. Three bombs were detonated on the London Underground and one on a double decker bus. The attacks took place between 8.50 am and 9.47 am. 56 people died during the attacks (including 4 terrorists) and around 700 were injured.July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks
The 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks
The 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks were a series of terror attacks on July 23, 2005, perpetrated by an Islamist organization, targeting the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula...
attacks were a series of terror attacks on July 23, 2005, perpetrated by an Islamist organization, targeting the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
November 9, 2005 Amman hotel bombing
Suicide bombers merged into a wedding crowd in Hayatt Amman Hotel, with two other hotels targeted2005 Amman bombings
The 2005 Amman bombings were a series of coordinated bomb attacks on three hotels in Amman, Jordan, on 9 November 2005. The attacks killed 60 people and injured 115 others. The explosions—at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, the Radisson SAS Hotel, and the Days Inn—started at around 20:50 local time at the...
in the same night leaving 60 people dead and hundreds injured.
April 2007 Algiers bombings
Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic MaghrebAl-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb
The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat is a radical Islamist militia which aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it is currently engaged in an insurgent campaign.The group...
claimed to have been responsible for the April 11, 2007 Algiers bombings
2007 Algiers bombings
2007 Algiers bombings may refer to:*11 April 2007 Algiers bombings*11 December 2007 Algiers bombings...
. Two bombs exploded within a short time of each other, one at the prime ministers office and the other at a police station. The blasts killed 33 people. It was the first time a bombing had occurred in the capital in more than a decade.
February 2008 Kandahar bombing
The 2008 Kandahar bombing of February 17, 2008 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was an attack targeting a crowd of people watching a dog-fighting competition.June 2, 2008 Danish-embassy bombing
Al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan on June 2, 2008. A car bomb killed six people and injured several. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a high-ranking member of Al-Qaeda, issued a statement after the bombing, claiming that the attack was a response to the 2005 publication of the Muhammed Cartoons.
June 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting
On June 1, 2009, MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
convert Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad
2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting
The 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting took place on June 1, 2009, when Muslim convert Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, aka Carlos Leon Bledsoe, opened fire with a rifle in a drive-by shooting on soldiers in front of a United States military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a...
opened fire in a drive-by shooting
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle without use of headlights to avoid being noticed. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...
on a United States military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, killing one US soldier and wounding another. At the time he stated that the act was "for the sake of Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military" and law enforcement authorities concluded "there doesn't appear to be a wider conspiracy or, at this point in time, any indication that he's a part of a larger group or a conspiracy". However he later professed that he had conducted a "Jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
i attack" as part of Al Qaeda.
December 2009 Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Shortly after the arrest of Umar Farouk AbdulmutallabUmar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber", is a suspected terrorist who attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on December 25,...
in the December 25, 2009 bombing attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...
, the suspect reportedly told officials he had traveled to Yemen for training by Al-Qaeda, although British counterterrorism officials dismissed the claims. President Barack Obama's top security official Janet Napolitano on December 27 stated "Right now we have no indication it's part of anything larger", warning it would be "inappropriate to speculate" that Al-Qaeda had sent Abdulmutallab on a suicide mission. On December 28, President Obama called it an "attempted terrorist attack" and promised to "to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us, whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia...". That same day, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack. The group released photos of Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber", is a suspected terrorist who attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on December 25,...
smiling in a white shirt and white Islamic skullcap with the Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula banner in the background. On January 8, 2010, President Barack Obama took responsibility for security lapses exposed by the attack, declaring in televised remarks "We are at war against Al-Qaeda", noting "our adversaries will seek new ways to evade them, as was shown by the Christmas attack" By February 2010, the suspect told federal investigators that cleric Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
gave him orders to carry out the attack. Al-Jazeera reported that Awlaki issued a statement that "Brother mujahed Umar Farouk – may God relieve him – is one of my students, yes... We had kept in contact, but I didn't issue a fatwa to Umar Farouk for this operation,".
Dec 30, 2009
December 30, 2009 a massive IED strikes a Canadian LAV3 RWS killing 5 and wounding 5.An Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
agent posing as a double agent killed 7 CIA officers in the 2009 Khost CIA bombing on December 4, 2008. The Jordanian man, thought to be an American asset penetrating Al-Qaeda was brought in the wire of the camp and detonated an explosive belt, killing 7 CIA, 1 Jordanian intelligence officer, and seriously wounding six others.
October 2010 cargo plane bomb plot
On October 29, 2010, two packages, each containing a bomb consisting of 300 to 400 g (10.6 to 14.1 oz) of plastic explosivePlastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
s and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
's security chief. They were bound from Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
to the United States, and were discovered at en route stop-overs, in England and in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
One week later, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a militant Islamist organization, primarily active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It was named for al-Qaeda, and says it is subordinate to that group and its now-deceased leader Osama bin Laden, a Saudi citizen whose father was born in Yemen...
(AQAP) took responsibility for the plot. U.S. and British authorities had believed that AQAP, and specifically Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
, were behind the bombing attempts. They also believed the bombs were most likely constructed by AQAP's main explosives expert, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri.
August 2003 Imam Ali Mosque bombing
The Imam Ali Mosque bombingImam Ali Mosque bombing
The Imam Ali Mosque bombing was the detonation of two car bombs outside of the Shia Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf on August 29, 2003. The attack killed 83 people crowded around the mosque for Friday prayers, including Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, spiritual leader of the Supreme Council of the...
was the detonation of two car bombs outside of the Shia Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf on August 29, 2003
February 2004 Irbil bombings
The 2004 Irbil bombings was a double suicide attack on the offices of Kurdish political parties in Irbil, Iraq, north of Baghdad on February 2, 2004. The attackers detonated explosives strapped to their bodies as hundreds gathered to celebrate Eid Al-Adha in Irbil.March 2004 Iraq Ashura bombings
The Ashura massacre of March 2, 2004 in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
was a series of planned terrorist
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...
explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
s that killed at least 178 and injured at least 500 Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i Shi'a Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura
Day of Ashura
The Day of Ashura is on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram.It is commemorated by Shia Muslims as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala on 10...
. The bombings brought one of the deadliest days in the Iraq occupation after the Iraq War
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
to topple Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
.
April 2004 Basra bombings
21 April 2004 Basra bombings were a series of large car bomb explosions which ripped through Basra, Iraq.July 2005 Musayyib bombing
The 2005 Musayyib bombing was a suicide attack on a marketplace in Musayyib, Iraq, a town 35 miles south of Baghdad on July 16, 2005.September 2005 Baghdad bombings
The 14 September 2005 Baghdad bombings14 September 2005 Baghdad bombings
The 14 September 2005 Baghdad bombings were a series of more than a dozen terrorist attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.The most deadly bombing occurred when a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle in a crowd of construction workers who had gathered in Baghdad's Oruba Square looking for jobs...
were a series of more than a dozen terrorist attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
November 2005 Khanaqin bombings
2005 Khanaqin bombings2005 Khanaqin bombings
2005 Khanaqin bombings were suicide attacks on two Shia mosques in Khanaqin, Iraq , on November 18, 2005.- External links :*, BBC News, 18 November 2005...
were suicide attacks on two Shia mosques in Khanaqin, Iraq.
April 2006 Buratha Mosque bombing
The Buratha Mosque bombingBuratha Mosque bombing
The Buratha Mosque bombing was a triple suicide bombing that occurred on April 7, 2006 in Baghdad.-The attacks:The explosions happened when many worshippers were leaving the Buratha Mosque after Friday prayers...
was a triple suicide bombing that occurred on April 7, 2006 in Baghdad.
November 2006 Sadr City, Iraq bombings
The 2006 Sadr City bombings were a series of car bombs and mortarMortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
attacks in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
that began on 23 November at 15:10 Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
time (12:10 Greenwich Mean Time) and ended at 15:55 (12:55 GMT). Six 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,...
s and two mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
rounds were used in the attack on the Shi'ite
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
slum in Sadr City
Sadr City
Sadr City is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built in 1959 by Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim and later unofficially renamed Sadr City after deceased Shia leader Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr....
.
February 2007 Baghdad market bombing
The 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing
The 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing was the detonation of a large truck bomb in a busy market in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on 3 February 2007...
was the detonation of a large truck bomb in a busy market in the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i capital of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
on 3 February 2007. The suicide attack killed at least 135 people and injured 339 others.
March 2007 Tal Afar bombings
The 2007 Tal Afar bombings and massacre2007 Tal Afar bombings and massacre
The 2007 Tal Afar bombings took place on March 27, 2007, when two truck bombs targeted Shia areas of the town of Tal Afar, Iraq, killing 152 and wounding 347 people.-External links:*...
took place on March 27, 2007, when two truck bombs targeted Shia areas of the town of Tal Afar
Tal Afar
Tal Afar is a city and district in northwestern Iraq in the Ninawa Governorate located approximately 30 miles west of Mosul and 120 miles north west of Kirkuk.While no official census data exists, the city which had been...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, killing 152 and wounding 347 people.
April 2007 Baghdad Iraq bombings
The 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings were a series of attacks that occurred when five car bombCar 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,...
s exploded across Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, the capital city of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, on 18 April 2007, killing nearly 200 people.
August 14, 2007 Yazidi community Iraq bombing
The 2007 Yazidi communities bombings occurred at around 8pm local time on August 14, 2007, when four co-ordinated suicide bombSuicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
attacks detonated in the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
towns of Qahtaniya and Jazeera (Siba Sheikh Khidir), near Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
. Iraqi Red Crescent's estimates say the bombs killed 796 and wounded 1,562 people, making this the Iraq War's most deadly car bomb attack during the period of major American combat operations.
August 2009 Baghdad bombings
The 19 August 2009 Baghdad bombings were three coordinated car bomb attacks and a number of mortar strikes in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.October 2009 Baghdad bombings
On 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings there were attacks in BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
which killed 155 people and injured at least 721 people.
April 2010 Baghdad bombings
The April 2010 Baghdad bombingsApril 2010 Baghdad bombings
The April 2010 Baghdad bombings were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq that killed at least 85 people over two days. Hundreds more were seriously wounded.-23 April attacks:...
were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq that killed at least 85 people over two days.
May 2010 Iraq attacks
The 10 May 2010 Iraq attacks10 May 2010 Iraq attacks
The 10 May 2010 Iraq attacks were a series of bomb and shooting attacks that occurred in Iraq on 10 May 2010, killing over 100 people and injuring 350, the highest death toll for a single day in Iraq in 2010....
were a series of bomb and shooting attacks that occurred in Iraq on 10 May 2010, killing over 100 people and injuring 350, the highest death toll for a single day in Iraq in 2010.
November 2010
The 2 November 2010 Baghdad bombings2 November 2010 Baghdad bombings
The 2 November 2010 Baghdad attacks were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed more than 110 people.At least 17 explosions occurred in the attacks, 48 hours after the 2010 Baghdad church attack...
were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed more than 110 people.
January 2011 Iraq suicide attacks
The January 2011 Iraq suicide attacksJanuary 2011 Iraq suicide attacks
The January 2011 Iraq suicide attacks were a series of three consecutive suicide bombings in Iraq.-18 January attack:On 18 January 2011, a bomber killed 63 people and injured around 150 in the city of Tikrit. The bombing occurred near a police facility where several hundred people were gathered...
were a series of three consecutive suicide bombings in Iraq which left at least 133 dead.