Al-Qaida does not have the habit of taking credit, or boasting, over how many attacks the group has made. Following the declaration of war on terrorism in 2001, the US government tried to connect as many groups and actions as possible to al-Qaida; this might result in erroneous attribution of responsibility.
- December 29, 1992, the local associates of Osama bin Laden put a bomb in a hotel in Aden, Yemen. Two Austrian tourists were killed after some US soldiers had just left.
- February 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in an underground parking of the World Trade Centre in New York City. Six people were killed and about 1,000 wounded.
- October 3, 1993 al-Qaida claimed to have shot down two Black Hawk US helicopters in Mogadishu, Somalia; 18 US servicemen were killed.
- Al-Qaida members Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheik Mohammed planned to destroy airplanes in flight over the mid-Pacific using explosives. An apartment fire in Manila, Philippines, exposed the plan before it could be carried out. Youssef was arrested, but Mohammed evaded capture until 2003.
- Al-Qaida is believed to be responsible for a bombing at a US military facility in Riyadh in November 1995, which killed two Indians and five Americans.
- Al-Qaida is also thought to be responsible for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing which killed American military personnel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. This attack is however also ascribed to Hizbullah.
- August 7, 1998, the US Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, were bombed killing 224 people and wounding 5,000, mostly local. Twelve US citizens were among the dead.
- October 12, 2000, a suicide bomber killed 17 US Servicemen in a bomb attack on the USS Cole in Aden harbour, Yemen.
- January 3, 2000, al-Qaida planned attacks against US and Israeli tourists visiting Jordan but the Jordanian authorities thwarted the planned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial.
- Al-Qaida attempted the bombing of the Los Angeles International Airport during the millennium holiday, although the bomber, Ahmed Ressam, was caught at the US-Canadian border with bombs in the trunk of his car.
- Al-Qaida planned to attack USS The Sullivans, but that effort failed due to too much weight being put on the small boat meant to bomb the ship.
- The most destructive al-Qaida attacks took place in the USA on September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked; two were flown into the World Trade Centre towers in New York City and one into the Pentagon. The fourth one crashed in a rural area in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people died.
- Richard Reid (who proclaimed himself a follower of Osama bin Laden) tried to destroy the American Airlines flight 63 from Paris to Miami December 22, 2001. His sneakers were filled with explosives but, luckily, a flight attendant saw him trying to light a fuse.
- January 22, 2002, four Indian policemen were shot dead at a US centre in Calcutta.
- Daniel Pearl, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan, on January 23, 2002 by a group with links to al-Qaida. He was beheaded a few days later.
- March 17, 2002, five people were killed in a grenade attack on a congregation in a Karachi church.
- April 11, 2002, a lorry exploded near the ancient Jewish shrine of El Griba in Djerba, Tunisia, killing 14 Germans, 5 Tunisians and a Frenchman.
- May 8, 2002, a suicide bomber killed 11 French navy experts and 3 Pakistani in Karachi, Pakistan.
- June 14, 2002, a suicide bomb attack on the US consulate in Karachi killed 12 people and injured 45 more.
- August 6, 2002, gunmen in Pakistan killed six Christians.
- October 6, 2002, a suicide attack on the French super tanker Limburg off the coast of Yemen killed one crewmember.
- October 8, 2002, an attack on US military personnel in Kuwait killed one US soldier and wounded another.
- October 12, 2002, the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, killed 188 people, mostly westerners and wounded 234 others.
- October 18, 2002, three people were killed and 22 injured when a bus was bombed in Manila.
- October 28, 2002, linked to the shooting of US diplomat Laurence Foley in Amman, Jordan.
- November 28, 2002, the bombing of the Israeli owned hotel Paradise in Mombassa, Kenya, killed 15 people and injured 40 others. This was followed by the launching of two missiles that missed an Israel holiday plane.
- May 12, 2003, suspected to be behind the bombing of three housing estates in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing at least 39 people and wounding 200.
- May 16, 2003, bombers exploded at least five bombs in Casablanca, Morocco, killing 45 people including 12 bombers, and injuring 60.
- June 7, 2003, a suicide bomber hit a German peacekeepers bus near Kabul killing 4 of them and wounding 31. An Afghan civilian and the bomber were also killed.
- August 5, 2003, a bomb killed 10 people and injured 150 at a Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
- August 19, 2003, a truck bomb devastated the UN headquarters in Baghdad killing 22 people including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top UN envoy in Iraq.
- November 15, 2003, two Synagogues were bombed in Istanbul, Turkey, including the main one, Bath Israel Synagogue. The bomb hit the buildings at prayer time on the Sabbath; 23 people were killed and more than 300 wounded.
- November 20, 2003, two car bombs exploded at the HSBC bank and the British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 32 people including the consul, Roger Short- and wounding more than 400.
- March 11, 2004, some stations and commuters trains were bombed in Madrid. A London newspaper reported receiving an email from a group affiliated with al-Qaida, claiming responsibility. A videotape claiming responsibility was also found. About 200 people died and more than 1,000 wounded.
- June 7, 2004, al-Qaida threatened to shoot down some civilian American planes as well as some of their allies.
On July 24, 2004, "Islamic Tawhid Group", an al-Qaida organization, threatened Australia and Italy with attacks if they did not pull their troops out of Iraq. The Web site statement said the group would attack both countries if their demands were not met. It was their second such statement in a week. On July 21 the group threatened Bulgaria and Poland with similar attacks if they do not also pull out their soldiers from Iraq. The group also threatened to attack Australian interests in Arab and Muslim countries. "Our arms are long and we can reach whoever we want, whenever we want." "Follow the path of the Philippines and Spain. It is the path which guarantees you a safe and secure life."
Quote this article on your site | Views: 875 | Print
Be first to comment this article
Only registered users can write comments. Please login or register.
