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Title: 1995 Patterns of Global Terrorism
Author: U.S. Department of State
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Release Date: April 1996
Patterns of GlobalTerrorism: 1995
Contents:
Introduction
The Year in Review
Africa Overview
Angola
Chad
Ethiopia
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Asia Overview
Afghanistan
Cambodia
India
Japan
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Europe and Eurasia Overview
Austria
Croatia
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Italy
Russia
Spain
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Latin America Overview
Argentina
Colombia
Guatemala
Panama
Peru
Middle East Overview
Algeria
Egypt
Israel and the Occupied Territories/Palestinian Autonomous Areas
Jordan
Lebanon
Morocco
Saudi Arabia
Tunisia
Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism
Cuba
Iran
Iraq
Libya
North Korea
Sudan
Syria
Appendixes
A. Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1995
B. Background Information on Major Groups Discussed in the Report
______________________________________
Patterns of GlobalTerrorism: 1995
Introduction
Acts of international terrorism in 51 countries in 1995 continued to
threaten civil society and peacemaking, including the Israeli-
Palestinian peace process, while international cooperation to combat
terrorism intensified. Terrorists failed to achieve ultimate political
goals, as in the past, but they continued to cause major political,
psychological, and economic damage.
Lethal acts of international terrorism and the number of deaths declined
in 1995, but a gas attack in Japan raised the spectre of mass casualties
by chemical terrorism. Except for Iran, which actively continued to
support terrorism in 1995, international pressure and sanctions largely
contained terrorism by other state sponsors such as Libya and Iraq.
Furthermore, individual and group-sponsored terrorist acts overshadowed
state-sponsored terrorism. Many of these terrorists—some loosely
organized and some representing groups— claimed to act for Islam and
operated, increasingly, on a global scale. These transnational
terrorists benefit from modern communications and transportation, have
global sources of funding, are knowledgeable about modern explosives and
weapons, and are more difficult to track and apprehend than members of
the old established groups or those sponsored by states. Many of these
transnational terrorists were trained in militant camps in Afghanistan
or are veterans of the Afghan war. In 1995 a conspiracy discovered in
the Philippines to bomb US airliners over the Pacific and led by the
suspected mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing, exemplified this
kind of transnational terrorism.
Terrorism by extremist individuals or groups claiming to act for
religious motives continued to dominate international terrorism in 1995.
In Israel new suicide bombings by radical Islamic Palestinians and the
assassination of Prime Minister Rabin by a Jewish Israeli extremist
continued previous efforts by terrorists to derail the peace process.
Islamic extremists also waged a series of terrorist acts in Egypt,
France, Algeria, and Pakistan.
Ethnic-based terrorism also continued in 1995. The Kurdish group, the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), pressed its terrorist campaign in Turkey
and Western Europe. Terrorist attacks or threats erupted in the
Caucasus, and Tamil separatists used terrorism to advance their cause in
Sri Lanka.
One of the most chilling terrorist acts of the year was the gas attack
on the Tokyo subway by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, indicating that terrorism
involving materials of mass destruction is now a reality.
Hostage taking continued to be a major form of terrorist activity,
especially in countries like Colombia, where terrorists often have been
able to extort ransom payments.
This report describes attacks of international terrorism by country and
region and patterns that can be derived from these attacks. It comments
on, but does not provide details on, domestic terrorism and other forms
of political violence. These are more widespread phenomena than
international terrorism, which involve citizens or property of more than
one country.
The United States believes that implementing a strict counterterrorist
policy is the best way to reduce the global terrorist threat. US policy
follows three general rules:
-- First, make no deals with terrorists or submit to blackmail. We have
found over the years that this policy works.
-- Second, treat terrorists as criminals, pursue them aggressively, and
apply the rule of law.
-- Third, bring maximum pressure on states that sponsor and support
terrorists by imposing economic, diplomatic, and political sanctions and
by urging other states to do likewise.
Nations around the world are working together increasingly to fight
terrorism through law enforcement cooperation. Several governments
turned over major terrorists to US authorities for prosecution in 1995,
including the reputed mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing,
Ramzi Ahmed Yousef. Some of Yousef's suspected gang members also were
apprehended by other governments and extradited or rendered to US
authorities.
Another major victory for the rule of law occurred in October, when a US
court convicted Umar Abd al-Rahman and nine codefendants of conspiring
to wage a war of urban terrorism against the United States.
Several multilateral conferences on counterterrorism in 1995 were a sign
of recognition that international cooperation against terrorists is
critical. Argentina, for example, convened a regional ministerial
meeting on counterterrorism in August in the wake of two major car
bombings in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994. Senior officials from Chile,
Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, the United States, and the host nation
discussed practical measures against the threat posed in the region.
The Group of Seven plus Russia also held an unprecedented
counterterrorist conference at the ministerial level in Ottawa in
December, responding to a mandate from the heads of state at the Halifax
Summit in June. In their Declaration, the ministers of the G-7 and
Russia pledged to take action in the following areas:
-- Strengthening the sharing of intelligence on terrorism.
-- Pursuing measures to prevent the terrorist use of nuclear, chemical,
and biological materials.
-- Inhibiting the movement of terrorists.
-- Enhancing measures to prevent the falsification of documents.
-- Depriving terrorists of funds.
-- Increasing mutual legal assistance.
-- Strengthening protection of aviation, maritime, and other
transportation systems against terrorism.
-- Working toward universal adherence to international treaties and
conventions on terrorism by the year 2000.
The United States, for its part, has made progress in many of these
areas. For example, the Clinton administration has sought to increase
the use of extradition as a counterterrorist tool. We are engaged in an
active program of negotiating new and updated extradition treaties with
nations around the world. At year's end, five new extradition treaties
were pending before the US Senate for advice and consent to
ratification, and nearly 20 others were at various stages of
negotiation.
In addition, President Clinton signed an Executive Order in January 1995
blocking the assets in the United States of terrorists and terrorist
groups who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process and
prohibiting financial transactions with these groups.
President Clinton and Secretary Christopher stressed the high priority
of counterterrorist efforts in their addresses to the 50th United
Nations General Assembly in October. In his UNGA speech, President
Clinton challenged all the world's governments to negotiate and sign an
international declaration on citizen security, including a call for
enhanced cooperation on counterterrorism.
Last year, at the dedication of a memorial in Arlington National
Cemetery to commemorate those killed in 1988 in the Pan Am 103 bombing,
President Clinton said: "Today, America is more determined than ever to
stand against terrorism, to fight it, to bring terrorists to answer for
their crimes." More and more nations are demonstrating that same
determination as the international battle against terrorism gets
stronger each year.
Legislative Requirements
This report is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United
States Code, Section 2656f(a), which requires the Department of State to
provide Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for
those countries and groups meeting the criteria of Section (a)(1) and
(2) of the Act. As required by legislation, the report includes detailed
assessments of foreign countries where significant terrorist acts
occurred and countries about which Congress was notified during the
preceding five years pursuant to Section 6(j) of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (the so-called terrorism list countries that
have repeatedly provided state support for international terrorism). In
addition, the report includes all relevant information about the
previous year's activities of individuals, terrorist organizations, or
umbrella groups known to be responsible for the kidnapping or death of
any US citizen during the preceding five years and groups known to be
financed by state sponsors of terrorism.
Definitions
No one definition of terrorism has gained universal acceptance. For the
purposes of this report, however, we have chosen the definition of
terrorism contained in Title 22 of the United States Code, Section
2656f(d). That statute contains the following definitions:
-- The term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically motivated
violence perpetrated against noncombatant(1) targets by subnational
groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.
-- The term "international terrorism" means terrorism involving
citizens or the territory of more than one country.
-- The term "terrorist group" means any group practicing, or that has
significant subgroups that practice, international terrorism.
The US Government has employed this definition of terrorism for
statistical and analytical purposes since 1983. Domestic terrorism is
probably a more widespread phenomenon than international terrorism.
Because international terrorism has a direct impact on US interests, it
is the primary focus of this report. However, the report also describes,
but does not provide statistics on, significant developments in domestic
terrorism.
Note
Adverse mention in this report of individual members of any political,
social, ethnic, religious, or national group is not meant to imply that
all members of that group are terrorists. Indeed, terrorists represent a
small minority of dedicated, often fanatical, individuals in most such
groups. It is those small groups—and their actions—that are the subject
of this report.
Furthermore, terrorist acts are part of a larger phenomenon of
politically inspired violence, and at times the line between the two can
become difficult to draw. To relate terrorist events to the larger
context, and to give a feel for the conflicts that spawn violence, this
report will discuss terrorist acts as well as other violent incidents
that are not necessarily international terrorism.
Ambassador Philip C. Wilcox, Jr.
Coordinator for Counterterrorism
____________________
(1) For purposes of this definition, the term "noncombatant" is
interpreted to include, in addition to civilians, military personnel who
at the time of the incident are unarmed and/or not on duty. For example,
in past reports we have listed as terrorist incidents the murders of the
following US military personnel: Col. James Rowe, killed in Manila in
April 1989; Capt. William Nordeen, US defense attache killed in Athens
in June 1988; the two servicemen killed in the La Belle disco bombing in
West Berlin in April 1986; and the four off-duty US Embassy Marine
guards killed in a cafe in El Salvador in June 1985. We also consider as
acts of terrorism attacks on military installations or on armed military
personnel when a state of military hostilities does not exist at the
site, such as bombings against US bases in Europe, the Philippines, or
elsewhere.
____________________
Patterns of GlobalTerrorism: 1995
The Year in Review
In most countries, the level of international terrorism in 1995
continued the downward trend of recent years, and there were fewer
terrorist acts that caused deaths last year than in the previous year.
However, the total number of international terrorist acts rose in 1995
from 322 to 440, largely because of a major increase in nonlethal
terrorist attacks against property in Germany and in Turkey by the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). (The PKK also committed lethal acts of
terrorism.) The decline in lethal acts of international terrorism was
not matched by a reduction in domestic terrorism or other forms of
political violence that continued at a high level.
International terrorist attacks against US interests rose to 99 in 1995
from 66 in 1994, and the number of US citizens killed rose from four to
12. The total number of fatalities from international terrorism
worldwide declined from 314 in 1994 to 165 in 1995, but the number of
persons wounded increased by a factor of ten—to 6,291 persons; 5,500
were injured in a gas attack in the Tokyo subway system in March.
Significant acts of international terrorism during the year were:
-- Two US employees of the US Consulate in Karachi, Jacqueline Keys Van
Landingham and Gary C. Durell, were killed on 8 March when their shuttle
bus came under armed attack. A third employee, Mark McCloy, was injured.
-- On 20 March members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo placed
containers of the deadly chemical nerve agent sarin on five trains of
the Tokyo subway system during the morning rush hour. The cultists then
punctured the containers, releasing poisonous gas into the trains and
subway stations. The attack killed 12 persons, but despite the extreme
toxicity of sarin, 5,500 escaped with injuries, including two US
citizens. The attack was the first major use of chemical weapons by
terrorists.
-- Two US missionaries, Steve Welsh and Timothy Van Dyke, were killed
by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) during a
confrontation with a Colombian Army patrol on 19 June . The guerrillas
kidnapped the two New Tribes Mission members in January 1994 initially
to force the withdrawal of US military personnel engaged in military
assistance projects in Colombia. FARC later changed this demand to a
monetary ransom. Four other US citizens still were held hostage by
guerrillas in Colombia as of the end of 1995.
-- On 26 June gunmen attempted to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak during his visit to Ethiopia. The attempt was foiled by
Ethiopian counterterrorist forces and Egyptian security forces. Al-
Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group or IG) claimed responsibility, and
the suspects are believed to have fled to Sudan.
-- Terrorists bombed the Riyadh headquarters of the Office of the
Program Manager/Saudi Arabian National Guard on 13 November, killing
seven people, including five US citizens, and seriously injuring 42
others.
Western Europe experienced more international terrorist attacks during
1995 than any other region. However, most of the 272 incidents that
occurred there were the low-level PKK arson attacks mentioned above.
There were only 11 attacks in Western Europe that were lethal, that is,
that resulted in the death of one or more victims.
In Israel, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish
Israeli extremist in November, and Palestinian terrorists continued a
series of massive suicide bombings and shootings in Israel, killing 47.
A high level of terrorism continued in Algeria by the Armed Islamic
Group (GIA), and terrorists probably associated with the GIA launched a
series of bombings or attempted bombings in France.
There was no known international involvement in the 19 April bombing of
a federal building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people and wounded
more than 500.
Twelve US citizens were killed in international terrorist attacks last
year. In addition to the two US Consulate employees killed in Karachi,
the two missionaries killed in Colombia, and the five citizens killed in
Riyadh, a US tourist was murdered in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge, a US
citizen was killed in a suicide attack on an Israeli bus in Gaza, and
another died in a similar attack on a bus in Jerusalem. Forty-eight US
citizens were wounded during all of 1995.
Various foreign governments cooperated with the United States in 1995 in
arresting and transferring to US custody major international terrorist
suspects wanted for alleged violation of US counterterrorism laws. Ramzi
Ahmed Yousef, who is under indictment as a key figure in the bombing in
1993 of the World Trade Center in New York City, was arrested and
extradited to the United States by Pakistan in February. In August, Eyad
Mahmoud Ismail Najim, a suspected accomplice of Yousef's in the New York
bombing, was rendered to the United States by Jordan. In April, Abdul
Hakim Murad was arrested and handed over to US custody by the
Philippines for suspected involvement with Yousef in a plot to blow up
US aircraft over Asia, and Wali Khan Amin Shah—another suspected
coconspirator in this plot—was rendered to the United States by another
foreign government in December.
On 1 October, Shaykh Umar Abd al-Rahman and nine codefendants were
convicted in Manhattan federal court of conspiring to bomb the United
Nations, the FBI building in New York, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels,
and other New York landmarks, and for the terrorist bombing in 1993 of
the World Trade Center. Abd al-Rahman, known as the "Blind Shaykh," also
was found guilty of plotting to murder Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,
and defendant El Sayyid Nosair also was convicted of "murder in aid of
racketeering" in relation to the death of Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1990.
Trial evidence showed that Abd al-Rahman was the leader of an
organization whose aim was to wage a self-styled "holy war" of terror
against the United States because he considered it an enemy of Islam.
Abd al-Rahman and Nosair were sentenced to life in prison; the others
received prison terms ranging from 25 to 57 years.
Senior HAMAS official Musa Abu Marzuq, who is suspected of involvement
in terrorist activities in Israel, was detained in New York on 25 July
as he tried to enter the United States—where he had lived previously as
a legal permanent resident—after immigration officials found his name on
a watchlist of suspected terrorists. Israel has requested his
extradition. At year's end, that request was pending before US courts.
Africa Overview
Ten international terrorist attacks occurred in Africa last year, down
from 24 during 1994. Ethiopia was the scene of an attempted
assassination of visiting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak by members of
an Egyptian terrorist group. Other attacks—primarily kidnappings—
occurred in Angola, Chad, Sierra Leone, and Somalia.
Angola
The United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM) was attacked by
unknown perpetrators on 11 November. Two handgrenades were thrown into
the UNAVEM III campsite in Cabinda city, seriously injuring one
Bangladeshi police observer and damaging the facility.
Chad
On 18 March, an American UN worker, a Malian, and two Chadians were
kidnapped in the city of Mao by the Movement for Democracy and
Development, an armed Chadian opposition group. The US citizen was
released on 27 March.
Ethiopia
Ethiopian counterterrorist forces foiled an assassination attempt
against visiting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on 26 June. Mubarak
had just arrived in Addis Ababa to attend the Organization of African
Unity (OAU) summit when several members of the Egyptian extremist al-
Gama'at al-Islamiyya (also known as the Islamic Group, or IG) attacked
his motorcade. Ethiopian forces killed five of the attackers and
captured three others. Ethiopia and Egypt have charged the Government of
Sudan with complicity in the attack and harboring suspects and pursued
the matter in both the OAU and the United Nations.
On 26 February, unknown assailants threw two grenades into the USAID
compound in Addis Ababa, damaging the facility's windows and three
vehicles. No one was injured.
Sierra Leone
The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) took several foreigners hostage in
the first half of 1995 in an apparent attempt to force foreigners out of
the country. On 5 January, a Swiss national working for a French-owned
lumber firm was taken hostage. On 18 January, two Britons, a German, a
Swede, and a dual Swiss/Australian—all employed by the Swiss-owned
Sierra Leone Ore and Metal Company (Sieromco)—were kidnapped. On 25
January, six Italian nuns and one Brazilian nun were taken hostage. The
seven nuns were released on 21 March, and the others were released on 20
April. On 23 May, three Lebanese businessmen were abducted.
Somalia
On 30 April, a foreign businessman was kidnapped and killed near the
southern port city of Chisimayu, probably by radical Islamic extremists
as a political statement against the presence of foreigners.
Asia Overview
The most serious terrorist attack in Asia in 1995 was the nerve gas
attack on the Tokyo subway system in March carried out by the religious
cult Aum Shinrikyo. The attack—the first large-scale use of chemical
agents by terrorists—apparently was meant to destabilize Japan and pave
the way for the cult to seize control of the nation. The attack killed
12, injured thousands, and damaged Japan's sense of security. Japanese
authorities have since arrested the leaders of Aum Shinrikyo and
suppressed the organization. The Khmer Rouge murdered a US tourist in
Cambodia in January, the only terrorist-related death of a US citizen in
East Asia last year.
The East Asia/Pacific region was also the locale of a plot, discovered
by the Philippine Government, by Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and his accomplices
to assassinate the Pope and plant bombs on US airliners flying over the
Pacific.
In the South Asia region, the continued presence of Islamic militant
training camps in Afghanistan contributed to terrorist incidents in
Europe, Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and South Asia. Camps are
supported by nearly all Afghan factions, and the nominal Rabbani
government does not exercise control or authority over much of
Afghanistan. The Rabbani regime has been accused by the Government of
Pakistan of sponsoring a spate of bombings and assassinations in the
Peshawar area in late October and early November.
A group of Kashmiri and non-Kashmiri terrorists kidnapped six Westerners
in Indian-held Kashmir in July, demanding the release of militants
belonging to the Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA), a militant group based in
Pakistan. One hostage was killed and another escaped. Other Kashmiri
groups claimed responsibility for bombings at Republic Day celebrations
in Kashmir in January and at the office of the BBC correspondant in
Kashmir in September. Credible reports continue to indicate official
Pakistani support for militant groups fighting in Kashmir, including
some groups that engage in terrorism, such as the HUA. The Sikh
terrorist group, Babbar Khalsa, assassinated the Punjab Chief Minister
in August.
Two US Consulate employees were assassinated in Karachi in March. The
Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad was destroyed by a bomb in November, and
three Egyptian groups claimed responsibility. In February, Pakistan
extradited Ramzi Yousef, alleged mastermind of the World Trade Center
bombing, to the United States.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, which lacks an effective or recognized central government,
remained a training ground for Islamic militants and terrorists in 1995.
Nearly all of the factions competing for political power, including the
nominal government in Kabul led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, are involved to
some extent in harboring or facilitating camps that have trained
terrorists from many nations who have been active in worldwide terrorist
activity. Terrorists who trained in camps in Afghanistan perpetrated
attacks in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and South Asia,
including the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the attempted
assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia in June,
bombings in France by Algerian militants, and the Manila-based plot to
attack Western interests. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, suspected of involvement
in this plot as well as the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, is
linked to Afghan training. The group that claimed responsibility for the
bombing in November of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, also
has extensive ties to the Afghan network.
Individuals who trained in Afghanistan in 1995 were involved in wars or
insurgencies in Kashmir, Tajikistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, and the
Philippines. In Tajikistan, the government claimed in May to have
arrested a group of Afghan-trained Tajiks who were responsible for
attacking a bus carrying Russian border guards in Dushanbe in February.
Manila claims that veterans of Afghan camps are working with Philippine
opposition groups that attacked and destroyed a village in April.
The Rabbani regime in Kabul has done little to curb the training of
foreign militants. Indeed, one regime backer, Abd al-Rasul Sayyaf,
continues to harbor and train potential terrorists in his camps in
Afghanistan and Pakistan; the Government of Pakistan raided his
facilities near Peshawar in November after the bombing of the Egyptian
Embassy in Islamabad. The Rabbani regime did arrest foreign militants
from camps run by other factions. Many remain in jail in Kabul, but some
have been released.
Kabul has been accused by Islamabad of sponsoring a spate of bombings in
the Peshawar area in late October and early November. Pakistani
authorities claim to have arrested one Afghan in connection with the
first bombing incident. The Taliban, an Afghan opposition movement that
Kabul has accused Islamabad of supporting, forced a privately chartered
Russian-flagged transport aircraft from Tatarstan to land on 3 August,
and the seven-man crew was still held hostage in Qandahar at year's end.
The Taliban has claimed that the crew members are prisoners of war,
since the aircraft was carrying munitions for the Kabul regime. The
group has demanded that, in exchange for the crew, Russia cease its aid
to Kabul and provide information on thousands of Afghans who the Taliban
claim have been missing since the Afghan-Soviet war.
Cambodia
The Khmer Rouge (KR) continued to decline in strength, relying on rural
banditry and terror to support its policy of undermining the duly
elected government. The KR threat was strongest in the north and west,
particularly along the Thai border. However, in this region there is no
official US presence and only a small number of US citizens or other
Westerners, who work mostly with the UN and NGOs. Nevertheless, on 15
January a group of bandits, believed to have included Khmer Rouge,
killed a US citizen, Susan Ginsburg Hadden, wounded her husband, and
killed her Cambodian guide while the victims were touring temple areas
near Angkor Wat. Several people were tried and sentenced to 15-to-20-
year prison terms in connection with the killings. The government also
followed up on past KR atrocoties; six Khmer Rouge were sentenced to 15-
year terms (five in absentia) for the murders of two Britons and an
Australian in April 1994.
India
India continues to face significant security problems as a result of
insurgencies in Kashmir and the northeast. A group of Kashmiri and non-
Kashmiri terrorists kidnapped six Westerners—two US citizens, two
Britons, a German, and a Norwegian—hiking near Srinagar, Kashmir, in
July. The Norwegian hostage was beheaded, one US citizen escaped, and
the others—still held captive at year's end—have been threatened with
execution if India does not release several prisoners belonging to the
Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA), a militant group headquartered in Pakistan.
Bombings claimed by Kashmiri groups occurred throughout the year,
including explosions in a stadium in Kashmir during Republic Day
festivities on 26 January. The targets were primarily Indian Government
officials, military offices, and infrastructure facilities, but most of
those killed and wounded were civilians. Kashmiri terrorists also
targeted journalists in Srinagar. An AFP correspondent in Srinagar was
killed on 7 September by a package bomb intended for the BBC
correspondent. There are credible reports of official Pakistani support
for militants fighting in Kashmir, including for the groups that claimed
responsibility for the bombings.
In October, India signed an intelligence-sharing agreement with Egypt to
combat international terrorism and organized crime.
The Government of India has been largely successful in controlling the
Sikh separatist movement in Punjab State, but Sikh groups committed
several acts of terrorism in India in 1995. The Babbar Khalsa group
assassinated the Punjab Chief Minister outside his offices in Chandigarh
on 31 August. Another Sikh group, the Khalistan Liberation Force,
claimed responsibility for the bombing of three civilian targets in New
Delhi and Panjpit on 26 September. Indian authorities suspect that the
same Sikh group is responsible for a bombing in New Delhi on 21
November, which was claimed by both Sikh and Kashmiri groups. India
claims that Pakistan harbors and supports Sikh militant groups. Pakistan
claims that India supports a Pakistani separatist group in Sindh
Province, which Islamabad claims has carried out terrorist attacks in
Karachi.
Japan
In 1995, Japan suffered the world's first large-scale terrorist chemical
gas attack when a Japanese religious cult, Aum Shinrikyo or Aum Supreme
Truth, attacked the Tokyo subway system on 20 March. Five subway trains
were simultaneously attacked, killing 12 persons and sending about 5,500
to area hospitals for treatment of symptoms of chemical poisoning from
sarin gas. Foreigners, including two US citizens, one Swiss, one
Irishman, and two Australians, were among those who sought treatment for
chemical exposure. After an investigation, the Japanese police also
charged the Aum for the sarin gas attack on June 1994 in Matsumoto that
killed seven and injured about 500. Most of the suspected perpetrators
of the gas attack and most of the group's leaders—including its founder
Shoko Asahara—have been arrested and are awaiting trial.
On 15 November, an unknown perpetrator placed explosives on a powerline
pylon, causing minor damage but no injury or power outage to a US
military housing complex near Tokyo, five days before President Clinton
was scheduled to visit the city.
Pakistan
Two US employees of the US Consulate in Karachi were killed by unknown
gunmen on 8 March. On 19 November, the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad was
destroyed by a car bomb, for which three Egyptian militant opposition
groups claimed responsibility. Pakistan continues to experience
terrorist-related violence as a result of domestic conflicts and
instability in Afghanistan. Pakistan claimed that the current Afghan
regime was behind a spate of bombings and assassinations in the Peshawar
area in October and November. Pakistan claims that India provides
support for separatists in Sindh Province, especially in Karachi, where
terrorism and other violence resulted in over 100 deaths each month
during 1995.
Pakistan took steps in 1995 to curb the activities of Afghan mujahedin
and sympathetic Arabs and Pakistanis in the Pakistani regions that
border Afghanistan. In February, Pakistan arrested and extradited to the
United States Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, suspected of masterminding the World
Trade Center bombing in 1993 and a plot against US airlines in East Asia
in 1995. Pakistan's discovery through subsequent investigations that
Yousef had plotted to assassinate Prime Minister Bhutto led to arrests
of his associates throughout Pakistan. Islamabad also undertook a
partial crackdown in several Pakistani cities on nongovernmental
organizations suspected of aiding militant organizations and terrorists.
Under an extradition treaty with Egypt signed in late 1994, Pakistan
returned to Egypt several suspected terrorists before the Egyptian
Embassy bombing. As a result of this bombing, Pakistan rounded up
suspects and their associates in several Pakistani cities, including a
refugee camp in Pakistan run by Afghan leader Abd al-Rasul Sayyaf.
The Government of Pakistan acknowledges that it continues to give moral,
political, and diplomatic support to Kashmiri militants but denies
allegations of other assistance. There continued to be credible reports
in 1995, however, of official Pakistani support to militants fighting in
Kashmir, including Pakistani, Afghan, and Arab nationals, some of whom
engage in terrorism. One Pakistan-backed group, Harakat ul-Ansar (HUA),
is believed to be linked to Al-Faran, the group that claimed
responsibility for the kidnapping in July in Kashmir of two US citizens,
two Britons, a German, and a Norwegian. One US citizen escaped. The
Norwegian was later beheaded, and at year's end the other hostages were
still being held. In October there were reports that HUA was involved in
an arms-smuggling ring with Pakistani military officers accused of
plotting to overthrow the Bhutto government. Other Pakistan-backed
groups claimed responsibility for numerous bombings in Kashmir,
including one against foreign journalists.
Philippines
The Philippine Government continued its efforts to negotiate a
settlement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF); its cease-
fire with the group mostly was observed while the talks continued. Other
Islamists and leftist groups, however, continued to use terrorism to
achieve their aims.
On 6 January, Philippine police in Manila discovered a plot by foreign
Islamic extremists to place bombs on US airliners flying over the
Pacific. They also made plans to assassinate the Pope, who was about to
visit the Philippines, and to attack foreign embassies. The plots were
directed by Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the alleged mastermind of the World
Trade Center bombing in New York City in February 1993. Yousef escaped
but was later arrested in Pakistan and extradited to the United States.
Abdul Hakim Murad, another suspected conspirator, was arrested by
Philippine officials and handed over to the United States.
On 26 March the leftist Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) hurled a grenade at
the Singapore Airlines offices in Manila, damaging an armored car in the
parking lot of an adjacent bank. The group claimed the attack was to
show its displeasure with Singapore's decision to execute a Philippine
maid who had pleaded guilty to murder.
In December threats from the Abu Sayyaf Group led Philippine authorities
to arrest 30 Filipinos and foreigners allegedly engaged in plans to
carry out terrorist attacks in Manila. In response to Abu Sayyaf and ABB
activities, the Philippine Government urged passage of legislation
designed to facilitate police counterterrorist operations. Public
opposition to the legislation, however, makes quick passage unlikely.
Also in December, the ABB carried out three ambushes, resulting in the
death of a prominent Philippine-Chinese industrialist, his driver, and a
small boy. ABB claimed the attacks were in response to labor violations
at factories owned by the murdered industrialist and others. President
Ramos called the attacks "a declaration of war" and ordered police to
high alert, resulting in the arrest of a number of ABB operatives.
Sri Lanka
The separatist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued
to plague the government in 1995, with insurgency and terrorism directed
against senior Sri Lankan political and military leaders, economic
infrastructure-related facilities, and civilians. The LTTE withdrew from
government-initiated peace talks in April and renewed its attacks. The
government then launched the largest offensive of the 12-year war.
Although the LTTE suffered heavy casualties, and at least temporarily
lost its main base on the Jaffna Peninsula, it continued to pose a
serious terrorist threat. In October, in their first attack on Sri
Lanka's economic infrastructure in several years, the Tigers attacked
oil and natural gas storage facilities in the Colombo suburbs and
significantly reduced Sri Lanka's oil storage capability. The Tigers
also conducted or planned suicide bombings against Indian Prime Minister
Rao, Sri Lankan Army headquarters, other senior military and government
officials, and government offices in Colombo.
The LTTE has refrained from targeting Western tourists possibly out of
fear that foreign governments would crack down on Tamil expatriates
involved in fundraising activities abroad. In July, however, the Ellalan
Force, an LTTE front group, exploded bombs in Colombo's zoological
gardens, in a park, and on a beach frequented by tourists; there were no
casualties. They intended to damage the tourist trade rather than to
harm foreigners. These attacks followed a threat by the Ellalan Force to
carry out bomb strikes in Colombo unless the government agreed to
investigate the military's alleged use of civilians as human shields.
Europe and Eurasia Overview
The number of lethal terrorist incidents in Europe declined from 46 in
1994 to 11 in 1995, although the total number of incidents rose from 88
to 272. In Eurasia, however, the total number dropped from 11 in 1994 to
five in 1995. Most of the terrorist incidents that occurred in Europe
and Eurasia were acts of arson or vandalism against Turkish-owned
businesses largely in Germany. These acts are widely believed to be the
work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); several European nations
permit the PKK to operate known front companies within their borders.
Islamic extremists upset with French Government policy toward the
conflict in Algeria are suspected of being responsible for terrorist
bombings in France during 1995 that left eight dead and 160 wounded. The
bombers targeted subways, markets, and other public places to achieve a
maximum effect. Islamic extremists also probably conducted a car bombing
in front of police headquarters in Rijeka, Croatia, which killed the
driver of the car. The Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group
or IG) claimed responsibility.
Radical nationalism and xenophobia provoked a campaign of letter bombs
directed at foreigners in Austria and in Germany, where neo-Nazi
violence against foreigners continued. The terrorist group Basque
Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) continued its campaign of murder and
intimidation in Spain, including an attack on Partido Popular leader
Jose Maria Aznar, and Spanish police in August foiled a plot to
assassinate King Juan Carlos. In Greece the indigenous leftist
Revolutionary Organization 17 November and other domestic terrorist
groups continued to threaten US and Turkish diplomats and to target
Greek business interests.
In Turkey, the PKK continued to engage in terrorism with the goal of
creating a separate state. In addition, Marxist terrorist groups and
Islamist radicals conducted terrorist attacks aimed at official Turkish
interests and progovernment figures. The Marxist Revolutionary People's
Liberation Party/Front, known by the Turkish initials DHKP/C—the
successor to the group formerly known as Dev Sol—apparently continued to
target US interests. The PKK also continued to attack sites frequented
by US and other tourists but at a level sharply reduced from its height
in 1993.
Austria
Attacks on foreigners that began in 1993 continued in 1995, killing four
and injuring another 11 persons, including two in neighboring Germany.
In June a third series of letter bombs linked to neo-Nazi elements
included two that were mailed from Austria to an Austrian-born black TV
commentator in Munich and to the mayor of Luebeck, injuring colleagues
of the intended victims. The letters carried the logo of the Bajuwarian
Liberation Front (also known as the Bavarian Liberation Army), an
obscure rightwing group that had claimed responsibility for a number of
attacks in Austria. In December another round of bombings was timed to
try to embarrass Austrian authorities. Two of four letter bombs in a
public mailbox exploded as the trial of two rightwing suspects in the
bombings of December 1993 was wrapping up. (They were acquitted.)
On 20 September a leftwing group called the Red Daughters of Rage
firebombed a German pharmaceutical firm in Vienna that was hosting US
visitors and flying a US flag. The group claimed the firm was affiliated
with a US genetic company that they alleged was involved in forced
sterilization in developing countries. A leftwing group calling itself
the Cell for Internationalism claimed responsibility for a similar
firebombing the next day against the American International School. The
same group claimed it was also involved in a firebombing on 20 December
against an American Express office in Salzburg.
In February, Austrian officials released suspected Abu Nidal terrorist
Bahij Younis from a Vienna prison, where he had served 13 years for
complicity in the murder in 1981 of the president of the Austro-Israeli
Society Nittel in Vienna. Younis is also believed to have masterminded
the attack against a synagogue in Vienna in 1981. In March, Austria
extradited to Belgium Rajeh Heshan Mohamed Baghdad, a PLO terrorist
sentenced to life in 1982 for his role in a murder and terrorist attack
in 1981.
Croatia
A car bomb detonated outside police headquarters in Rijeka on 20
October, injuring 29 bystanders and killing the driver of the car. The
Egyptian organization al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (also known as the Islamic
Group or IG) claimed responsibility for the bombing. The car bomb was
detonated to press Croatian authorities into releasing IG spokesman
Tala'at Fuad Kassem, who had been detained by Croatian police in Zagreb
on 12 September. After the bombing, Croatian authorities said Kassem was
no longer in the country.
France
A series of terrorist incidents in France in 1995 appeared to be the
work of Algerian extremists. In July a cofounder of the Algerian
opposition group Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), Abdelbaki Sahraoui, was
murdered in Paris. Suspicion focused on another Algerian opposition
group, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which had earlier put Sahraoui on
a "death list" for his supposed conciliatory posture toward the Algerian
Government.
A blast on 25 July in a Paris metro station kicked off a campaign of
eight bombings or attempted bombings in France. Eight people were killed
and 160 wounded in the attacks, which were staged in train stations,
markets, and other public places to maximize civilian casualties.
Although there were various claims of responsibility for the blasts,
suspicions centered on the violent Islamic opposition to the Algerian
Government. Some commentators argued that the GIA wanted to punish the
Government of France for its supposed support for the Algerian
Government; others claimed that the bombings were in retribution for the
killing of four Algerian hijackers of an Air France Airbus in December
1994.
French police achieved a breakthrough in September when they traced
fingerprints found on an unexploded bomb—discovered on high-speed train
tracks near Lyon—to a French citizen of Algerian descent, Khaled Kelkal.
The police killed Kelkal in a shootout later that month. In November
fingerprints found on another unexploded device and other information
led police to arrest several more people of North African descent, two
of whom were formally charged with involvement in the bombings. There
were no additional terrorist blasts in 1995 following these arrests. The
French judiciary may reveal more about its understanding of the
structure behind the crimes when the judicial cases against the accused
come to trial.
In August assailants threw a molotov cocktail at a Turkish sporting and
cultural association in Paris, injuring six and causing minor damage.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) probably is responsible.
Georgia
On 29 August unidentified assailants attempted to assassinate President
Eduard Schevardnadze by detonating a car bomb near his motorcade as it
left the presidential compound in T'bilisi. Schevardnadze suffered minor
injuries, but four of his bodyguards were injured, one seriously.
Six armed men detonated a small bomb in front of the residence of the
Russian Ambassador to Georgia on 9 April, shattering windows and causing
minor damage to nearby houses. The Algeti Wolves claimed responsibility
for that attack and for an armed assault two hours later on Russian
troops in the city, citing Russian involvement in Chechnya as the reason
for both attacks. There were no injuries.
Germany
Authorities continued to pursue and prosecute Red Army Faction (RAF)
members. In September, a German court sentenced RAF member Sieglinde
Hofmann to life imprisonment for assisting in five murders and three
attempted murders, including the bomb attack in 1979 in Belgium on then-
NATO Commander Alexander Haig. In October, Johannes Weinrich, a former
RAF member and alleged deputy to international terrorist Illych Ramirez
Sanchez (Carlos), was indicted in Berlin for transporting explosives
into Germany that were later used to bomb the French cultural center;
Weinrich had been extradited to Germany from Yemen. Germany released
several former RAF terrorists who had served from 11 to 20 years of
their sentences.
Although German officials say the RAF has largely disintegrated, they
worry about successor organizations that have assumed the RAF's
ideological mantle. The emerging Anti-Imperialist Cells (AIZ), for
example, mounted several bombing attacks against German interests in
1995. Among far-right groups, German authorities noted an increasing
tendency to link up with neo-Nazi groups abroad, especially through the
use of electronic communication networks.
The number of arson attacks with proven or probable connections to
foreign extremist groups were more than five times those carried out in
1994, largely because of two waves of attacks in March-April and July-
August by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In more than 200 attacks
on Turkish establishments—some of which may have been "copycat" attacks
perpetrated by antiforeigner Germans rather than the PKK—two foreigners
died and several others were injured. Although Germany banned the PKK
and several associated Kurdish organizations in 1993, new PKK front
organizations appear frequently in Germany, thus presenting a continuing
problem for the government.
Attacks against US interests were rare, although US-owned Chrysler
dealerships were targeted to protest the scheduled execution in the
United States of convicted murderer Mumia Abu Jamal. In Kassel, vandals
smashed car and showroom windows, and, elsewhere, the Anti-Imperialistic
Group Liberty for Mumia Abu Jamal claimed responsibility for firebombing
a vehicle parked outside a dealership.
In November a group calling itself Anti-Imperialist Freedom Connection
for Benjamin claimed responsibility for setting fire to and destroying a
vehicle belonging to a German-Spanish automobile joint venture; the
claim letter protested the deportation trial of Benjamin Ramos-Vega, a
member of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorist group.
Greece
Greek leftist and anarchist groups in 1995 again conducted numerous
terrorist attacks against public and private Greek and foreign targets.
The Revolutionary Organization 17 November, for example, fired two
rockets at a MEGA TV station facility in March, causing extensive damage
but no casualties. Greek terrorist groups also conducted several
operations against foreign interests, including the August bombings of
the American Express and Citibank offices in Athens.
Greece had some counterterrorist successes in 1995, including the
successful conviction of Georgios Balafas, a suspected 17 November
terrorist sentenced to 10 years in prison for stockpiling weapons. Greek
counterterrorist efforts, however, could benefit from the passage of
tougher, more comprehensive counterterrorist regulations. Since 1975 no
one has been convicted of any of 17 November's terrorist attacks,
including the murder of four US officials and a Greek employee of the US
Embassy. While official statements indicate the government's resolve to
confront Greece's domesticterrorist problem, frequent turnover of key
personnel involved in the fight against terrorism—three public order
ministers in the past year—hampers these efforts.
Greek authorities continued in 1995 to deny public Turkish charges that
the anti-Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) conducts operational
terrorist training and receives assistance in Greece. As is the case in
certain other European countries, however, Greece permits the PKK to
operate a known front organization in Athens. In May it also allowed the
successor group to Dev Sol, another anti-Turkish and anti-US terrorist
group, to open an office in Athens under its new name, the Revolutionary
People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C).
Italy
In the culmination of what journalists said was a two-year
investigation, Milan police arrested 11 persons on 26 June at Milan's
Islamic Center and made additional arrests a few days later. Police
officials told the press that the group provided support for an
international network of Islamic terrorist organizations, including the
Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group or IG). A police
spokesman also said the arrestees maintained contact with the "Blind
Shaykh," Umar Abd al-Rahman, who was convicted in October for conspiring
to commit terrorism in the United States. Charges against the accused
include conspiracy, extortion, armed robbery, falsifying documents, and
arms smuggling.
On the basis of a French warrant, Italian police arrested former Red
Army Faction member Margo Froehlich in October. A German national, she
was wanted for complicity in a Paris attack in 1982 carried out by
international terrorist Illych Ramirez Sanchez (Carlos) that killed one
person and injured 63.
Russia
On the afternoon of 13 September, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the
sixth floor of the US Embassy in Moscow. The grenade penetrated the wall
and exploded inside, causing some damage to office equipment but no
casualties. No group claimed responsibility.
In December 1995, Russia participated in a first-of-its-kind
counterterrorism ministerial conference that was called by the heads of
the G-7 nations plus Russia at their June summit in Halifax.
Spain
In 1995, Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorists conducted
attacks on Spanish rail lines and stations, banks, police officers, and
political figures—including the assassination of the Partido Popular
mayoral candidate in San Sebastian and the attempted assassination of
the leading contender for the prime ministership. In addition, ETA
targeted French interests in Spain in 1995. In February a suspected ETA
bomb exploded at a French-owned bank. Following a joint Spanish-French
operation that thwarted a plot to assassinate King Juan Carlos while he
vacationed in Majorca last August, suspected ETA members or supporters
tossed molotov cocktails at a Citroen car dealership in Navarre,
destroying five vehicles. In mid-December suspected ETA members
detonated a car bomb in Madrid, one of the worst attacks in years that
claimed at least six lives and wounded 15others.
Turkey
Turkey continued its vigorous pursuit of several violent leftist and
Islamic extremist groups, especially the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),
responsible for terrorism in Turkey.
The PKK launched hundreds of attacks in 1995 in Turkey, including
indiscriminate bombings in areas frequented by Turkish and foreign
civilians, as part of its campaign to establish a breakaway state in
southeastern Turkey. For example, the group set off a bomb outside a
cafe/grocery store in Izmir on 17 September, killing five and wounding
29. The PKK also continued—albeit with less success—its three-year-old
attempt to drive foreign tourists away from Turkey by attacking tourist
sites. In August two US citizens were injured by shrapnel in a bombing
of Istanbul's popular Taksim Square. Moreover, the PKK continued to
expand its activities in Western Europe, especially in Germany, where
its members frequently attacked ethnic Turks and Turkish commercial
establishments.
A successor to the Marxist/Leninist Devrimci Sol (Dev Sol)—known as the
Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)—and several
Islamic extremist groups were active in 1995. Dev Sol has been
responsible for several anti-US attacks since 1990, and the DHKP/C
continues to target US citizens. In July the group took over a
restaurant in Istanbul, holding several civilians—including three US
tourists—hostage. All of the hostages eventually were released unharmed.
Loosely organized Islamic extremist groups, such as the Islamic Movement
Organization and IBDA-C, continued to launch attacks against targets
associated with Turkish official facilities and functions. They may have
been responsible for the attempted assassination in June of a prominent
Jewish community leader in Ankara.
Ukraine
On 24 May, an explosive device detonated near the Austrian Airlines
office in the Odessa airport in southern Ukraine. Austrian Airlines is
the only Western airline that flies out of Odessa. Press reports said
the device consisted of about six pounds of plastic explosive. There
were no injuries. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which
may not have been politically motivated.
United Kingdom
The cease-fires begun in the autumn of 1994, led by the Provisional
Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and followed by other Republican splinter
groups and the three major Loyalist paramilitaries, still held at year's
end. Nevertheless, sporadic incidents of politically motivated killings,
arson, attempted bombings, punishment beatings, and abductions were
reported. No progress was made on the decommissioning of weapons, and
paramilitaries were combat ready. In November, Irish and British police
forces intercepted a van loaded with hundreds of pounds of explosives in
Ireland near the border with Northern Ireland. Authorities believe a
Republican fringe group known as the Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA) was intending to attack British security forces in Northern
Ireland. A subsequent police sweep of the area discovered another cache
of explosives and bombmaking equipment at a farm a few miles from the
first operation.
In January an unidentified assailant shot and killed a Sikh newspaper
editor. The victim may have been killed because of his support for an
independent Sikh state in India. No one claimed responsibility.
A British court ruled on 25 July to extradite Kani Yilmaz, European
chief of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), to Germany, where he faces
charges of conspiracy to commit arson. The ruling sparked a large crowd
of PKK supporters to battle London police, pelting them with bottles,
bricks, and road signs, injuring more than a dozen police officers and
an unknown number of others. The United Kingdom permits the PKK to
operate a known front organization within its borders.
Latin America Overview
International terrorist activity rose in Latin America mostly due to the
high number of attacks against international entities in Colombia. In
1995 the number of attacks in that country increased by 85 percent to 76
attacks. In all of Latin America, however, a total of eight
international terrorist attacks last year were lethal.
Guerrillas continued to target the democratic process in Colombia
through intimidation and violence. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) held at least four US citizens hostage at the end of the
year. The group killed two US missionaries in June after kidnapping them
in 1994. Ransoms continued to provide guerrillas with significant
income, making up for a decrease in protection payments from coca
growers, who had lower production as a result of the government's
eradication program. Government efforts to negotiate a peaceful
settlement were met with increased guerrilla violence.
There were no international terrorist incidents reported in Argentina
during 1995. The investigation into the bombing in 1994 of the Argentine
Jewish Mutual Association remains unsolved. The Government of Argentina
organized and hosted a regional counterterrorist conference in August in
an effort to encourage cooperation in countering the international
terrorist threat.
Peru successfully continued to counter its terrorist organizations,
significantly lowering the level of violence in the country. While
Peru's terrorist organizations, Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path or SL)
and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) have significantly
declined in strength, they still have the capacity to inflict damage
against international targets. At year's end, the Government of Peru was
planning to host an Organization of American States (OAS) conference on
terrorism in 1996, which will focus on promoting cooperation among
Western Hemisphere nations in combating terrorism while protecting human
rights.
Argentina
Throughout 1995 the Argentine Government continued its investigation of
the bombing in July 1994 of the Jewish community center building (AMIA)
that killed nearly 100 persons. In September, Investigating Judge Juan
Jose Galeano filed additional charges against detained suspect Carlos
Telleldin, accusing him of criminal conspiracy relating to the stolen-
car ring that allegedly provided the van used in the attack on the AMIA.
The police detained other suspects in December to review their possible
roles in the bombing attack.
The investigation into the bombing in March 1992 of the Israeli Embassy
failed to develop any new leads. Paraguay extradited seven suspected
terrorists to Argentina, where they were released after questioning. The
Argentine Supreme Court now has responsibility for the case. The
Iranian-backed Lebanese Hizballah remains the key suspect in both the
1992 and 1994 attacks.
One of Argentina's most wanted fugitives, Enrique Gorriaran Merlo, was
detained on 28 October in Mexico and expelled shortly thereafter to
Buenos Aires to stand trial. Gorriaran was involved in the kidnapping of
the general manager of an Exxon refinery and managed the negotiations
for the captive's release after a ransom was paid. Gorriaran was also an
organizer of an attack on a military base in 1989 that left nearly 40
dead. He had been a leader of Argentina's People's Revolutionary Army
(ERP), a largely leftist urban terrorist group that operated in the
1970s, and he personally took responsibility for the assassination of
former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza in Paraguay in 1980. If
convicted of the several charges, Gorriaran faces life imprisonment.
Argentina took a leading role in regional cooperation against
international counterterrorism in 1995. Buenos Aires hosted a regional
counterterrorist conference in August to improve cooperation among its
neighbors—Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, as well as the United
States and Canada. The Government of Argentina also is pressing for
greater cooperation with Brazil and Paraguay to improve border controls
in the "triborder" area, where their three frontiers meet. Argentina
will introduce a new machine-readable passport in early 1996.
Colombia
Colombia continued to be wracked by violence in 1995, suffering numerous
terrorist bombings, murders, and kidnappings for ransom. Drug
traffickers, leftist insurgents, paramilitary squads, and common
criminals committed scores of crimes with impunity, killing their
targets as well as many innocent bystanders. Although most of the
politically motivated violence was directed at local targets, Colombia
recorded 76 international terrorist incidents during 1995, the highest
number in Latin America and nearly twice the 41 such incidents in 1994.
The nation's two main guerrilla groups—the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN)—intensified
political violence during the year, ignoring offers for peace talks with
the government. Rebel attacks against oil pipelines owned jointly by the
Government of Colombia and Western companies escalated, accounting for
most of the international incidents in Colombia in 1995.
Kidnapping for ransom continued to be a profitable business in Colombia;
leftist guerrillas conducted approximately half of all abductions in the
country, increasing their war chests by several million dollars.
Colombians were the primary victims, but many foreign nationals also
were abducted. At year's end, FARC rebels held at least four US
citizens, three of whom were detained in 1993 and one in 1994. In August
presumed FARC guerrillas released one US citizen kidnapped near Cali in
1994. Another US citizen, kidnapped in January, was released in April.
Kidnappings of foreigners sometimes have ended with the murder of the
hostage. A British citizen kidnapped by guerrillas in June was found
dead in August near Bogota. The guerrillas also kidnapped and
subsequently released a UK Embassy employee. In June, FARC guerrillas
murdered two US missionaries, held since January 1994, during a chance
encounter with a Colombian army patrol. Police have issued arrest
warrants for eight guerrillas suspected of kidnapping the two
missionaries.
Despite President Samper's willingness to negotiate with the nation's
guerrilla organizations, FARC and ELN insurgents did not demonstrate a
sincere desire to pursue a negotiated settlement in 1995. Instead, they
continued to attack government forces and other targets. On the
anniversary of President Samper's inauguration in August, FARC rebels
attacked a police counternarcotics base in Miraflores (in Guaviare
Department), killing six and wounding 29 police officers. Unknown
assailants, possibly guerrillas, bombed a sculpture in a crowded
Medellin square, which left 28 persons dead and injured more than 175.
FARC guerrillas operating in areas of heavy coca cultivation often fired
on—and in one case shot down—government aircraft engaged in US-supported
drug eradication efforts.
Twice during 1995, President Samper declared a "state of internal
commotion," invoking exceptional measures because of increased violence
nationwide and the assassination on 2 November of Conservative Party
patriarch Alvaro Gomez Hurtado. On that date, President Samper announced
that he was empowering the military, governors of the 32 departments
(states), and all mayors to authorize the evacuation of civilians from
municipalities to combat illegal armed groups, including the guerrilla
organizations operating in Colombia.
Guatemala
Guatemala's 35-year-old insurgency continues at a low level, as talks
toward a negotiated settlement progress. The three major armed guerrilla
groups—the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), the Revolutionary
Organization of the People in Arms (ORPA), and the Guerrilla Army of the
Poor (EGP)—are allied in the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union
(URNG), along with the Communist Guatemalan Workers' Party (PGT).
In April a bomb was detonated outside the Presidential Palace during a
visit by UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Evidence points to
guerrilla involvement, but no group claimed responsibility. In May
presumed guerrillas fired on a US Embassy antinarcotics helicopter on a
training flight over Palin. The aircraft sustained minor damage.
Panama
The bombing in July 1994 of a commuter airliner that killed all 21
persons aboard, including three US citizens, remained under
investigation in 1995. Panama has made no arrests but continues to
cooperate closely with US authorities.
Progress was made in two other terrorist cases. Pedro Miguel Gonzalez,
one of the suspects in the murder in 1992 of US Army Corporal Zak
Hernandez, turned himself over to Panamanian authorities in January
1995; his case had not yet gone to trial by the end of the year. Two
others sought in connection with the murder of the US serviceman
remained at large. Juan Barria, who confessed to having murdered a US
citizen and a US Embassy employee during Operation Just Cause in 1989,
was convicted after a jury trial on 19 November.
Peru
Peruvian Government security forces in 1995 continued to reduce the
activities of Peru's terrorist organizations—Sendero Luminoso (Shining
Path or SL) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). Numerous
detentions, casualties, and defections further weakened the two groups,
and continued arrests of several terrorist leaders kept the level of
violence by these groups low compared to previous years. Most of the
violence in 1995 took place in rural areas, particularly the coca-rich
Upper Huallaga Valley. Violence in Lima and other cities declined. In
Lima there were two car bombings, the lowest number in years.
Police arrests helped disrupt Sendero's terrorist plans for the national
elections in April 1995. In a major coordinated operation,
counterterrorist police arrested approximately 20 members of Sendero
Luminoso in the cities of Lima, Callao, Huancayo, and Arequipa. Among
those captured was Sendero Central Committee member, and number-two
leader of Sendero militants still at large, Margi Clavo Peralta. Clavo
later publicly announced her support for peace talks with the
government, which jailed Sendero leader and founder Abimael Guzman first
advocated in 1993.
Three years after the capture of SL chieftain Guzman, the Maoist
terrorist group is struggling, attempting to rebuild and resolve its
leadership problems. Sendero Luminoso has become less active, its
operations smaller and less sophisticated. While SL's capability to
target international targets has diminished, it retains the capability
to cause considerable harm, and its "anti-imperialist" animus has not
changed. In May the group detonated a car bomb in front of a luxury Lima
hotel, killing four and injuring several dozen persons. In July, Sendero
terrorists killed a Peruvian employee of a US mining company after
seeking by name a US geologist who had left the site a few days earlier.
On 1 December the number-two leader of MRTA still at large, Miguel
Rincon, surrendered to police after a firefight that followed a raid of
a MRTA safehouse. The police arrested more than a dozen other MRTA
members and uncovered weapons and explosives in the residence. The
police effort inflicted a severe blow to the weakened terrorist
organization, disrupting its plans to conduct attacks.
Middle East Overview
The deadliest terrorist attack against US interests in the Middle East
since the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut took place on 13
November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A vehicle bomb badly damaged the
headquarters of the Office of the Program Manager/Saudi Arabian National
Guard (OPM/SANG), a military training mission. Seven persons, including
five US citizens, were killed and 42 were wounded. Several shadowy
groups, including the "Islamic Movement for Change," claimed
responsibility for the incident. Saudi Arabian authorities are
aggressively investigating the incident in close cooperation with the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Fatalities from extremist violence in Egypt rose slightly above 1994
totals. Nevertheless, Egyptian authorities continued a successful
crackdown against extremists, arresting some important leaders and
confining violence to upper Egypt. In November, al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya
(the Islamic Group or IG) renewed efforts to target Egypt's tourist
industry. In two shooting attacks against trains traveling through Qina
and Al Minya Governorates in upper Egypt, two Europeans and 10 Egyptians
were wounded.
For the first time, Egyptian extremists extended their campaign of
violence outside Egypt's borders. The IG claimed responsibility for an
assassination attempt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in
Ethiopia in June, and in November the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad,
Pakistan, was bombed, killing 16 and wounding 60. Both the IG and the
Jihad Group claimed responsibility for this attack.
In Algeria widespread terrorism continued the trend of recent years.
Armed insurgents turned increasingly to the use of indiscriminate
bombings in their offensive against the government, deemphasizing their
reliance on military-style attacks on Algerian security units. While
attacks against foreigners in Algeria decreased overall, Islamic
militants expanded their offensive to include targets overseas and US
targets in Algeria. In November, Islamic militants set fire to a US
Embassy warehouse; this was consistent with threats against foreign—
including US—interests in Algeria issued by the Armed Islamic Group
(GIA). The same group is suspected of responsibility for the murder in
Paris in July of a prominent activist from the Islamic Salvation Front—
another Algerian Islamist opposition group—as well as a bombing campaign
in Paris that killed eight persons and wounded scores.
Elsewhere in North Africa, incidents of terrorist violence were low.
Tunisian authorities maintained effective control of the internal
security situation and, in particular, closely followed the activities
of the Tunisian Islamic Front, which claimed responsibility for the
murders of four policemen and has warned all foreigners to leave
Tunisia. In Morocco, an Egyptian detonated a bomb in the consular
section of the Russian Embassy, evidently to protest Russian policy in
Chechnya. Islamic extremists continued efforts to smuggle weapons
through Morocco into Algeria to support extremists there.
In Israel and the occupied territories/Palestinian autonomous areas,
incidents of political violence and terrorism continued to plague the
Palestinian-Israeli peaceprocess. On 4 November, a Jewish Israeli
extremist assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at a propeace rally
in Tel Aviv. In subsequent statements the assassin said he acted to
protest Rabin's peace process policies.
The overall number of anti-Israeli attacks declined to 33 in 1995 from
79 in 1994 due to a change in the nature of attacks, that is, less
frequent but more lethal suicide bombings. Casualty figures thus
remained high, with 45 Israeli soldiers and civilians killed, two US
civilians killed, and nearly 280 persons wounded in 1995, compared to 55
persons killed and more than 150 wounded in the previous year. The
Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) and the Palestine Islamic Jihad
(PIJ) claimed responsibility for most of these attacks, including
several devastating suicide bombings. Chairman Yasir Arafat's
Palestinian Authority (PA) launched a campaign to crack down on Islamic
militants while at the same time initiating political dialogue with
HAMAS to bring it into the political process. HAMAS announced a
temporary suspension of military activities in August while engaging in
talks with the PA; there were no major HAMAS attacks against Israelis
through the end of 1995.
Lebanon witnessed small improvements in the internal security situation
during the year, including in Beirut. Despite government efforts to
extend its control, however, many parts of the country remained outside
the central government's authority. The terrorist organization Hizballah
has yet to be disarmed and still operates freely in several areas of the
country, particularly the south. Incidents of internal political
violence continued to trouble many parts of the country.
Algeria
The security situation in Algeria did not improve substantially in 1995.
Accurate casualty figures are difficult to acquire, but as many as
50,000 Algerians—militants, security personnel, and civilians—have died
as a result of the nearly four-year-old insurgency. Islamic extremists
slowed their attacks against foreign nationals inside Algeria in 1995,
but suspicions centered on the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) for a
series of terrorist attacks in France in July, September, and October.
Last year extremists carried out their first attack against a US target
in Algeria since Islamic militants began targeting foreigners in 1993.
On 9 November, Islamic extremists set fire to a warehouse belonging to
the US Embassy. The militants threatened the life of the Algerian
security guard because he was working for the United States, and they
specifically demanded to know whether there were any US citizens
present. The GIA probably carried out the attacks. The group had
threatened to strike US and other foreign targets in Algeria, and the
modus operandi of the attack was consistent with past GIA operations
against foreign facilities.
The GIA was responsible for the deaths of 31 foreigners in Algeria in
1995, compared to at least 64 in 1994. Most of the foreigners killed
were "soft targets," such as teachers and nuns. From July to October a
terrorist bombing campaign in France began against civilian targets,
killing eight persons and wounding 160. Suspicion centered on the GIA as
a protest of French support for Algiers. Suspicion also focused on the
GIA for the death of FIS leader Abdelbaki Sahraoui in Paris in July; the
group earlier had published Sahraoui's name in a list of FIS members
marked for death due to their conciliatory posture toward negotiating
with the Algerian regime.
Algerian militants changed their tactics slightly in 1995, relying more
heavily on the use of homemade bombs—especially car bombs—and decreasing
their reliance on more traditional military-style attacks on Algerian
security units. The GIA claimed responsibility for the suicide car
bombing of a police headquarters in downtown Algiers in January that
killed more than 40 persons. Insurgents stepped up attacks on
infrastructure targets this year, disabling bridges and electric power
facilities throughout the country. In May, GIA commandos attacked
foreign workers along a newly constructed gas pipeline, killing five.
The GIA continued its attacks against civilian targets, killing women
for refusing to wear the hidjab, intellectuals, and others it perceived
as "cooperating" with the regime and "spreading Western influence." Over
25 journalists were killed in 1995, making Algeria the most dangerous
place in the world for practitioners of this profession.
Violence in Algeria slowed significantly in the weeks before the
presidential election on 16 November, primarily because of extraordinary
measures employed by the security services. As these security measures
were relaxed, however, Algeria's fragmented Islamic movement continued
to attack foreigners; two Latvian sailors were shot within two weeks
after the elections.
Egypt
Fatalities from Islamic extremist violence rose slightly in 1995, with
the number of victims—including noncombatants and police—and extremists
killed increasing from 286 in 1994 to 375 in 1995. Violence primarily
was confined to provinces in upper Egypt; there were no attacks in Cairo
or urban areas further north.
Al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group or IG) continued to be the most
active Islamic extremist organization in Egypt in 1995. All attacks
occurred in upper Egypt, with much of the violence shifting from Asyu't—
the previous center of conflict—to Al Minya Governorate, specifically
around Mallawi. Some attacks also occurred in Qina Governorate. Police
and security elements were the focus of many attacks. The IG also is
believed to have been the culprit in the deaths of at least 28 Coptic
Christians and at least 20 Muslims alleged to be police informants. In
November, the IG also resumed its efforts to damage Egypt's tourist
industry, claiming responsibility for two shooting attacks that month
against trains traveling through Qina and Al Minya Governorates to
tourist sites in upper Egypt. Two Europeans and 10 Egyptians were
wounded in the attacks. The IG claims of responsibility were accompanied
by warnings for all foreign tourists to leave the country.
Egypt has stepped up its counterterrorist campaign, preventing Islamic
extremists from carrying out attacks in Cairo and other urban areas to
the north. A police sweep in Al Minya in September resulted in the
arrest of a key leader of the IG's military wing, who had been sought
since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
During 1995, Egyptian Islamic extremist groups took their campaign of
violence outside Egypt for the first time. The IG claimed responsibility
for an assassination attempt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in
Ethiopia on 26 June. The IG also took responsibility for a car bombing
in Rijeka, Croatia, in October that injured 29 Croatian nationals and
killed the car's driver. The IG accused the Croatian Government of
having arrested a visiting Gama'at member who had been living in
Denmark. Both the IG and the Jihad Group claimed responsibility for the
bombing on 19 November of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Sixteen persons were killed in the attack and another 60 were injured.
The previously unknown International Justice Group also took
responsibility for the bombing in Pakistan, as well as for the shooting
death of an Egyptian diplomat in Geneva on 13 November.
Israel and the Occupied Territories/Palestinian Autonomous Areas
Yigal Amir, a Jewish extremist associated with the little-known
"Fighting Jewish Organization" (EYAL), assassinated Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin at a propeace rally in Tel Aviv on 4 November. Amir
claimed to have acted alone, but Israeli security forces charged several
other alleged conspirators. Israel also stepped up its investigations of
EYAL and other extremist groups that may have had a hand in the murder.
Kach and Kahane Chai—which Israel outlawed as terrorist groups after the
Hebron massacre in February 1994—remained active in 1995, though they
maintained lower profiles.
The overall number of anti-Israeli attacks instigated by Palestinians
declined to 33 in 1995 from 79 in 1994 due to a change in the nature of
attacks, that is, to less frequent but more lethal suicide bombings.
Casualty figures remained high, with 45 Israeli soldiers and civilians
and two US citizens killed and nearly 280 persons wounded in 1995,
compared to 55 persons killed and more than 150 wounded the previous
year. The increased lethality of the attacks was due mainly to
Palestinian extremist groups' increased use of suicide bombings, which
killed 39 and wounded 252.
The Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) conducted five major anti-
Israeli attacks in 1995 as part of its campaign to derail the peace
process. The group claimed responsibility for three devastating suicide
bombings, including the bombing on 21 August of a bus in Jerusalem's
Ramat Eshkol neighborhood that resulted in the death of a US citizen,
Joan Davenny, and three Israelis, and the wounding of more than 100
civilians. Following that operation, HAMAS temporarily suspended its
military activities and entered into talks with the Palestinian
Authority (PA), in which HAMAS discussed the possibility of ending anti-
Israeli attacks and participating in the Palestinian elections on 20
January 1996. There were no major HAMAS attacks against Israelis from
the August suicide bus bombing through the end of 1995.
Other Palestinian groups that reject the peace process also attacked
Israelis. The Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ)-Shaqaqi Faction claimed
responsibility for five suicide bombings that killed a total of 29
persons and wounded 107. One bus bombing on 9 April killed a US citizen,
Alisa Flatow, and seven Israelis and wounded 41 other persons. Although
the group suffered a strong blow when its leader, Fathi Shaqaqi, was
assassinated in Malta on 26 October, it remained capable of striking at
Israeli targets. On 2 November, the PIJ carried out two suicide bomb
attacks against Israeli targets in Gaza to retaliate for Shaqaqi's
murder, which the group believes Israel sponsored. No Israelis were
killed in the attacks. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (DFLP) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP) also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Israelis
that occurred outside Palestinian Authority (PA) held areas in the West
Bank.
The PA increased its effort to rein in Palestinian violence against
Israelis in 1995. The PA security apparatus stepped up its campaign to
register and confiscate weapons, thwart terrorist plots, and convict
Palestinians responsible for anti-Israeli acts. The PA thwarted a PIJ
attack planned for 10 June. In August, the Palestinian Police Force
arrested a HAMAS terrorist who was preparing a bomb to be set off in
Israel. Arafat and other senior PA officials regularly condemned acts of
terrorism as they occurred, especially the Rabin assassination.
Israel's vigilant border security appeared to effectively prevent
infiltrations from Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Israeli troops on 12
August, for instance, captured a heavily armed guerrilla attempting to
infiltrate into Israel from Jordan. Hizballah and Palestinian
rejectionist groups continued to launch occasional—nine times in 1995—
Katyusha rocket salvos into northern Israel from southern Lebanon. The
most serious rocket attacks occurred in November, when militants in
Lebanon fired 30 to 40 Katyushas into northern Israel over a two-day
period, wounding six Israeli civilians.
Jordan
Jordanian security and police closely monitor secular and Islamic
extremists inside the country, detaining individuals suspected of
involvement in violent acts aimed at destabilizing the government or its
relations with other states. Jordanian authorities detained dozens of
persons in terrorist-related cases in 1995, including six members of the
Islamic Renewal Movement planning to attack foreign interests and two
individuals suspected of shooting a French diplomat in February. In late
July, Jordan arrested a suspect in the World Trade Center bombing,
pursuant to a request from the United States, and rendered him to US law
enforcement authorities in early August.
Jordan's peace treaty with Israel—signed on 26 October 1994—commits the
two parties to cooperate against terrorism. Amman maintains tight
security along its border with Israel and has stopped individuals
attempting to infiltrate into the West Bank.
Several Palestinian rejectionist groups maintain a closely watched
presence in Jordan, including the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ),
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine–General Command (PFLP-GC), and the Islamic Resistance
Movement (HAMAS). The government in April warned HAMAS spokesman Ibrahim
Ghawsha, a Jordanian citizen, not to issue statements supportive of
anti-Israeli violence, as this was in violation of Jordanian law. Under
that law, Jordan expelled two senior HAMAS leaders in May for making
inflammatory statements against Israel. The two did not hold Jordanian
citizenship.
Lebanon
There was incremental improvement in the Lebanese security environment
in 1995 as the Lebanese Government struggled to expand its authority
throughout the country. The situation in the Beirut metropolitan area is
somewhat improved but remains dangerous. Large sections of Lebanon,
however, remain effectively beyond the central government's control.
There is a risk to Westerners, in particular, in uncontrolled areas such
as in the south and the Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley). An unknown number of
Lebanese civilians were killed, injured, or displaced in the fighting in
southern Lebanon this year.
While the government has limited the activities of many violent
individuals and groups in Lebanon, the terrorist organization Hizballah
has yet to be disarmed and continues to operate as a separate polity
within the country. For example, Hizballah has announced that it will
operate a separate judicial system based on Islamic jurisprudence within
areas under its direct control.
Hizballah's animosity toward the United States continues. In its public
rhetoric, the group routinely denounces the United States. In March,
Hizballah leader Fadlallah stated that Hizballah "continue(s) to oppose
US policy everywhere." Hizballah also continues to make public
statements condemning the Middle East peace process.
Militia personnel in February kidnapped two individuals and held them
for four days before releasing them. Thousands of people seized during
the Lebanese Civil War remain unaccounted for.
Ahmad al-Assad'ad, the son of former Lebanese Parliament speaker Kamel
al-Assad'ad, apparently escaped injury on 3 July when handgrenades were
thrown at him during a rally in Nabatiyah in southern Lebanon.
In August gunmen shot and killed Shaykh Nizar al-Halbi, the chairman of
the Sunni fundamentalist group "Islamic Charitable Projects
Association," as he left his home in a West Beirut neighborhood. A group
calling itself the "Usama Kassass Organization" claimed responsibility.
Two suspects subsequently were arrested.
A car bombing in Jibshit killed a local Hizballah security official in
November. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In December, Lebanese security forces reportedly broke up a terrorist
ring operating in northern Lebanon. This ring was planning to begin a
violent campaign of assassinations and bombings that month.
There were developments in several terrorism trials. In May, the
Judicial Council trying Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Ja'ja on charges of
domestic terrorism—for the bombing in February 1994 of a Maronite Church
in Zuq Mikha'il that killed 11 and wounded 59—issued an indefinite
continuance (Sine Die) that suspended the trial. A second defendant,
Lebanese Forces Deputy Commander Fu'ad Malik, was granted bail on 17 May
for medical reasons. Ja'ja remains imprisoned for the assassination of
Dany Chamoun, a political rival, in 1990.
In June, Lebanon's Permanent Military Court sentenced (in absentia) two
defendants to death for the Beirut car bombing in December 1994 that
killed Hizballah member Fu'ad Mughniyah and two others. Two other
defendants received prison sentences.
By the end of the year, following a number of postponements, a Lebanese
court was set to proceed with the trial of three members of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) for the murders in 1976 of
US Ambassador to Lebanon Francis E. Meloy and US diplomat Robert 0.
Waring.
Several Palestinian groups that use terrorism to express their
opposition to the Middle East peace process maintain an active presence
in Lebanon. These include the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), the
Abu Nidal organization (ANO), the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command (PFLP-GC).
These organizations conduct terrorist training in southern Lebanon.
Morocco
There were few terrorist-related incidents in Morocco in 1995. The first
terrorist attack against a foreign diplomat in Morocco since 1985
occurred on 28 February, however, when an Egyptian citizen detonated a
bomb strapped to his body at the consular department of the Russian
Embassy. Although Moroccan officials initially suspected that the bomber
had ties to Islamic militants, subsequent investigations led Moroccan
officials to believe that the man was acting alone, and that the attack
was carried out to demonstrate his solidarity with the Chechen people.
Islamic extremists in Morocco continued their efforts to smuggle weapons
into Algeria to support Islamic opposition elements there. In mid-
October, Moroccan authorities arrested 16 persons in the eastern
province of Oujda whom the Moroccans alleged were transporting weapons
to Algeria's Islamic Salvation Front. Four of those arrested were
Algerians, strengthening the government claims that the arms were
intended for Algerian insurgents.
Saudi Arabia
On 13 November, a car bomb exploded outside the Riyadh headquarters of
the Office of the Program Manager/Saudi Arabian National Guard
(OPM/SANG). Seven persons died in the blast, five of whom were US
citizens, and 42 were injured. At least three groups claimed
responsibility for the attack, including the Islamic Movement for
Change, the Tigers of the Gulf, and the Combatant Partisans of God. The
Saudi Government is aggressively investigating this attack with the
assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Tunisia
Tunis maintained effective control of the security situation in 1995,
paying special attention to Islamic dissidents, but did not prosecute
any individuals for specific acts of terrorism. In May the extremist
Tunisian Islamic Front (FIT) issued a warning that all foreigners in
Tunisia should leave, but it did not follow up with any concrete threats
or attacks. The group also claimed responsibility for a number of
operations in Tunisia, including the murders of four policemen. Tunisian
authorities have not confirmed or denied the claims.
There are allegations that the FIT is working in conjunction with the
Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA), and that its members may be training
in GIA camps. Several Tunisians were taken into custody in 1995 for
alleged involvement with the GIA network in Europe. The FIT claimed
responsibility for an attack in February against a Tunisian border post
on the Tunisia-Algeria border in which seven border guards were killed,
but some officials blame the GIA—possibly in conjunction with the FIT—
for the attack. As of 31 December, there were no similar incidents.
Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism
The United States and its allies continue to focus on raising the costs
for governments that support, tolerate, and engage in international
terrorism. It is widely recognized that state support for terrorist
groups enhances their capabilities and makes law enforcement efforts to
counter terrorism more difficult. To pressure states to stop such
support, US law imposes trade and other restrictions on countries
determined by the Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided support
for acts of international terrorism by supporting, training, supplying,
or providing safehaven to known terrorists. The United States currently
lists Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria as state
supporters of terrorism. The list is sent annually to Congress, although
countries can be added or removed at any time circumstances warrant.
Cuba no longer is able to actively support armed struggle in Latin
America or other parts of the world because of severe ongoing economic
problems. While there was no direct evidence of its sponsorship of
terrorist acts in 1995, the Cuban Government continued to provide
safehaven for several international terrorists. Cuba has not renounced
political support for groups that engage in international terrorism.
Iran continued in 1995 to be the world's most active supporter of
international terrorism. Although Tehran tried to project a moderate
image in the West, it continued to assassinate dissidents abroad and
maintained its support and financing of groups that pose a threat to US
citizens. Iranian authorities reaffirmed the validity of the death
sentence imposed on British author Salman Rushdie, although some Iranian
officials claimed that the Government of Iran would not implement the
fatwa. No specific acts of terrorism attributed to the Iranian-backed
Lebanese Hizballah in 1995 were on the scale of the July 1994 bombing of
a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires, which is believed to have been
perpetrated by Hizballah. Hizballah continued attempts to undermine the
Middle East peace process and oppose Western interests throughout the
Middle East. Iran also supports other radical organizations that commit
terrorism in opposition to the peace process, including HAMAS, the
Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine–General Command (PFLP-GC). It also provides safehaven to
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a terrorist group fighting for an
independent Kurdish state that carried out numerous terrorist acts in
1995 against Turkish interests.
During 1995 several acts of political violence in northern Iraq matched
Baghdad's pattern of using terrorism against the local population and
regime defectors. These included a bombing attack on the Iraqi National
Congress and the poisoning of a number of regime defectors. Iraq
continues to provide a safehaven for various terrorist groups.
Libya continued for another year its defiance of the demands of UN
Security Council Resolutions adopted in response to its involvement in
the bombings of Pan Am flight 103 (1988) and UTA flight 772 (1989).
These resolutions demand that Libya turn over for trial the two
intelligence agents indicted for the PA 103 bombing, cooperate with US,
UK, and French authorities in investigating the Pan Am and UTA bombings,
pay compensation to victims, and cease all support for terrorism.
Instead, Libya continued to foster disingenuous "compromises" aimed at
diluting or evading the resolutions. It also continued hosting terrorist
groups like the Abu Nidal organization (ANO). Further, an investigation
into the murder of PIJ leader Fathi Shaqaqi in Malta in October 1995
revealed that he had long been a Libyan client. Tripoli also continued
to harass and intimidate the Libyan exile community; it is believed to
be responsible for the abduction of US resident Mansur Kikhia in
December 1993 and was blamed by Libyan exiles for the murder of a Libyan
oppositionist in London in November 1995. The Libyan charge in London
was expelled in 1995 for threatening and surveilling Libyan exiles in
the United Kingdom.
North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK) is not
known to have sponsored any terrorist acts since 1987. Since 1993 the
DPRK has made several efforts to reiterate a stated position of
opposition to all forms of international terrorism. The DPRK Government
since 1970 has provided safehaven to several members of the Japanese
Communist League–Red Army Faction, who participated in an aircraft
hijacking in 1970.
Sudan came into sharper focus in 1995 as a center of international
terrorist activities. By year's end it was at odds with many of its
neighbors. Uganda and Eritrea had severed diplomatic relations with
Khartoum because of its support of armed opposition groups in those
countries. Ethiopia and Egypt accused Sudan of complicity in one of the
year's highest profile terrorist crimes, the unsuccessful attempt to
assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa on 26 June,
attributed to the Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group or
IG). Surviving assailants captured by Ethiopian police incriminated the
Sudanese Government, which is dominated by the National Islamic Front
(NIF), in planning the crime and training the assailants. Three
conspirators are believed to be in Sudan. When Khartoum refused to
cooperate in apprehending them, the Organization for African Unity (OAU)
called for Sudan to hand over the suspects. In addition, Sudan continues
to harbor Usama Bin Ladin, a major financier of terrorism, and members
of some of the world's most violent groups like the IG, ANO, Lebanese
Hizballah and HAMAS. Khartoum is a major transit point and base for a
number of terrorist groups.
There is no evidence that Syrian officials have been directly involved
in planning or executing terrorist attacks since 1986. Nevertheless,
Syria continues to provide safehaven and support—inside Syria and in
areas of Lebanon under Syrian control—for terrorist groups such as Ahmad
Jibril's PFLP-GC, HAMAS, Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Japanese Red
Army, and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Syria has permitted
Iranian resupply of Hizballah via Damascus but continues to restrain the
international activities of some of these groups.
Cuba
Cuba no longer actively supports armed struggle in Latin America and
other parts of the world. In earlier years, the Castro regime provided
significant levels of military training, weapons, funding, and guidance
to leftist extremists worldwide. Havana's focus now is to forestall an
economic collapse; the government actively continued to seek the
upgrading of diplomatic and trade relations with other nations.
Cuba is not known to have sponsored any international terrorist
incidents in 1995. Havana, however, provided safehaven to several
terrorists in Cuba during the year. A number of Basque Fatherland and
Liberty (ETA) terrorists, who sought sanctuary in Cuba several years
ago, still live on the island. Members of a few Latin American terrorist
organizations and US fugitives also reside in Cuba.
Iran
Iran remains the premier state sponsor of international terrorism and is
deeply involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts both by
its own agents and by surrogate groups. This year Tehran escalated its
assassination campaign against dissidents living abroad; there were
seven confirmed Iranian murders of dissidents in 1995, compared with
four in 1994. Iranian antidissident operations concentrated on the
regime's main opposition group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), and the
Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).
Leaders of Iranian dissident groups are the most frequent victims of
Iranian intelligence and terrorist operations. In 1995 most
antidissident attacks were conducted in Iraq, in contrast to prior
years' worldwide operations. Attacks on Iranian dissidents in Iraq
during the year included the shooting deaths on 17 May of two MEK
members in Baghdad, the murder on 5 June of two members of the Iranian
Kurdish "Toilers" Party (Komelah) in Sulaymaniyah, and the killing of
three MEK members in Baghdad on 10 July. The shooting death in Paris on
17 September of Hashem Abdollahi, son of the chief witness in the trial
of 1994 that convicted two Iranians for murdering former Iranian Prime
Minister Bakhtiar in 1991, may have been an antidissident attack.
Sendar Hosseini, a suspect in the 1994 murder of dissident Osman
Muhammed Amini in Copenhagen, Denmark, was arrested by Italian police in
Bibione, Italy.
Iran provides arms, training, and money to Lebanese Hizballah and
several Palestinian extremist groups that use terrorism to oppose the
Middle East peace process. Tehran, which is against any compromise with
or recognition of Israel, continued in 1995 to encourage Hizballah,
HAMAS, the PIJ, the PFLP-GC, and other Palestinian rejectionist groups
to form a coordinated front to resist Israel and the peace process
through violence and terrorism.
Hizballah, Iran's closest client, remains the leading suspect in the
July 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israel Mutual Association (AMIA) in
Buenos Aires that killed at least 96 persons. This operation was
virtually identical to the one conducted in March 1992 against the
Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, for which Hizballah claimed
responsibility.
Iran also gives varying degrees of assistance to an assortment of
radical Islamic and secular groups from North Africa to Central Asia.
For example, Tehran continued to offer the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) safehaven in Iran. Seeking to establish a Kurdish state in
southeastern Turkey, the PKK in 1995 launched numerous attacks in Europe
and continued its violent campaign against Turkish tourism, including
attacks on tourist spots frequented by Westerners. Tehran also provided
some support to Turkish Islamic groups that have been blamed for attacks
against Turkish secular and Jewish figures.
Iranian authorities reaffirmed the validity of the death sentence
imposed on British author Salman Rushdie, although some Iranian
officials claimed that the Government of Iran would not implement the
fatwa. Tehran, however, continued to mount a propaganda campaign against
Rushdie. In February—the sixth anniversary of the judgment—Iran's
official news agency IRNA reported that Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmoud
Vaezi "underlined the need for the implementation of the fatwa against
the author of the blasphemous book The Satanic Verses." Vaezi in May
declared that "the fatwa issued by the late Imam [Khomeini] could
neither be revoked nor changed by anybody."
Despite increasing Iranian support for extremist groups and involvement
in terrorist operations, PresidentRafsanjani continued to project
publicly a "moderate" image of Iran to Western European countries and
Japan to facilitate the expansion of its relations with them. This quest
for respectability probably explains why Iran reduced its attacks in
Europe last year; Tehran wants to ensure access to Western capital and
markets.
Iran continued to view the United States as its principal foreign
adversary, supporting groups such as Hizballah that pose a threat to US
citizens. Because of Tehran's and Hizballah's deep antipathy toward the
United States, US missions and personnel abroad continue to be at risk.
Iraq
During 1995 several acts of political violence in northern Iraq matched
Baghdad's pattern of using terrorism against the local population and
regime defectors. Although Iraq's terrorist infrastructure has not
recovered from the blows it suffered during the Gulf war, Baghdad has
taken measures to restore its terrorist options.
Iraq remains far from compliance with UN resolutions that require it to
cease internal repression and support for terrorism. Iraqi-sponsored
terrorism has been commonplace in northern Iraq, where the regime is
responsible for more than 100 attacks on UN and relief agency personnel
and aid convoys over the past several years. In 1995 there were a number
of acts of political violence for which Baghdad is a suspect. For
example, a blast on 9 November at the security office in Kurdish-
controlled northern Iraq of the opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC)
killed at least 25 persons. The INC has been targeted before by the
regime in Baghdad.
Early in the year, a number of Iraqi oppositionists in northern Iraq
were poisoned by thallium. At least one survived and was treated in a
British hospital. The British Government confirmed that he was a victim
of a regime assassination attempt.
In October, the British Government expelled an officer of the Iraqi
Interests Section in London for engaging in "activities incompatible
with his diplomatic status." The London-based Iraqi opposition reported
that the official concerned was an employee of the Iraqi intelligence
services who was responsible for targeting Iraqi exiles for attack.
On 20 January a US District Court in California awarded $1.5 million to
Dr. Sargon Dadesho, an Iraqi oppositionist living in the United States
who had brought suit against the Iraqi regime. The court concluded that
the Iraqi Government was involved in a 1990 plot to assassinate Dadesho.
This is the only time such a judgment on Iraq's terrorist activities has
been reached in a US court. In other court action, a Kuwaiti appeals
court on 20 March confirmed the death sentences against two Iraqis
convicted of involvement in the plot in 1993 to assassinate President
George Bush, while converting to prison terms the death sentences meted
out to four others by a lower court.
Iraq continues to provide haven and training facilities for several
terrorist clients. Abu Abbas' Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) maintains
its headquarters in Baghdad. The Abu Nidal organization (ANO) continues
to have an office in Baghdad. The Arab Liberation Front (ALF),
headquartered in Baghdad, continues to receive funding from Saddam's
regime. Iraq also continues to host the former head of the now-defunct
15 May organization, Abu Ibrahim, who masterminded several bombings of
US aircraft. A terrorist group opposed to the current Iranian regime,
the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), still is based in Iraq and has carried out
several violent attacks in Iran from bases in Iraq.
Libya
The end of 1995 marked the fourth year of the Libyan regime's refusal to
comply with the demands of UN Security Council Resolution 731. This
measure was adopted following the indictments in November 1991 of two
Libyan intelligence agents for the bombing in 1988 of Pan Am Flight 103.
UNSCR 731 endorsed US, British, and French demands that Libya turn over
the two Libyan bombing suspects for trial in the United States or the
United Kingdom, pay compensation to the victims, cooperate with US, UK,
and French authorities in the investigations into the Pan Am 103 and UTA
flight 772 bombings, and cease all support for terrorism.
UN Security Council Resolution 748 was adopted in April 1992 as a result
of Libya's refusal to comply with UNSCR 731. UNSCR 748 imposed sanctions
that embargoed Libya's civil aviation and military procurement efforts
and required all states to reduce Libya's diplomatic presence. UNSCR 883
adopted in November 1993, imposed additional sanctions against Libya for
its continued refusal to comply with UNSC demands. UNSCR 883 included a
limited assets freeze and oil technology ban, and it also strengthened
existing sanctions.
By the end of 1995, the Libyan regime had yet to comply in full with the
UNSC demands. Although British authorities were satisfied that Libya had
provided sufficient information on its past sponsorship of the
Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), Tripoli had failed to meet any
of the other UNSC demands. Most significantly, it still refused to turn
over for trial in the United States or the United Kingdom the two Libyan
agents indicted for the Pan Am 103 bombing.
Throughout 1995, the Libyan regime continued to support groups violently
opposed to the Middle East peace process, some of which engage in acts
of international terrorism. After the murder of Palestine Islamic Jihad
(PIJ) leader Fathi Shaqaqi in Malta in October 1995, it was revealed
that Libya had frequently facilitated his travel. Libya also continued
to sponsor meetings of the Palestinian rejectionist groups in Tripoli.
Despite the ongoing sanctions against Libya for its sponsorship of
terrorism, Tripoli continued to harass and intimidate the Libyan
expatriate dissident community in 1995. Libya is widely believed to be
responsible for the abduction in 1993 and continued detention of
prominent Libyan dissident and human rights activist Mansur Kikhia. In
November 1995 a Libyan dissident resident in London was brutally
murdered; the Libyan expatriate community accused Tripoli of involvement
in his death. British authorities continued to investigate the case as
the year ended. They also expelled the Libyan charge in London for
engaging in "activities incompatible with his diplomatic status." The
charge was accused of being involved in intimidation and surveillance of
Libyan dissidents in the United Kingdom.
North Korea
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is not
known to have sponsored any international terrorist attacks since 1987,
when it conducted the midflight bombing of a KAL airliner, killing all
115 persons aboard. A North Korean spokesman in November stated that the
DPRK opposed "all kinds of terrorism" and "any assistance to it." North
Korea, however, continued to provide political sanctuary to members of
the Japanese Communist League–Red Army Faction who hijacked a Japanese
Airlines flight to North Korea in 1970.
Sudan
Sudan continued to serve as a refuge, nexus, and training hub in 1995
for a number of international terrorist organizations, primarily of
Middle Eastern origin. The Sudanese Government, which is dominated by
the National Islamic Front (NIF), also condoned many of the activities
of Iran and the Khartoum-based Usama Bin Ladin, a private financier of
terrorism. Khartoum permitted the funneling of assistance to terrorist
and radical Islamist groups operating in and transiting Sudan.
Since Sudan was placed on the US Government's official list of State
Sponsors of Terrorism in August 1993, the Sudanese Government has
continued to harbor members of some of the world's most violent
organizations: the Abu Nidal organization (ANO), Lebanese Hizballah, the
Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Egypt's al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic
Group or IG), and the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS). The NIF also
supports Islamic and non-Islamic opposition groups in Uganda, Tunisia,
Kenya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
Uganda severed diplomatic relations with Sudan in April, citing the
inappropriate activities of representatives of the Sudanese Embassy in
Kampala. The Government of Uganda said it found these activities
threatening to its security.
Both Ethiopia and Egypt accused Sudan's security services of providing
direct assistance to the IG for the attempt on the life of Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa on 26 June. Three surviving
assailants captured by Ethiopian police provided incriminating
information about Sudan's role. Sudanese help to the IG included
supplying travel documents and weapons and harboring key planners of the
operation.
Despite a private plea by the Ethiopian Government, the Sudanese regime
did not act on Ethiopia's request for the extradition of three Egyptian
suspects involved in the Mubarak assassination attempt, claiming it was
unable to locate them. Those being sought included the operation's
mastermind—resident in Khartoum—his assistant, and a surviving member of
the assassination team. (After the attack misfired, this last individual
fled from Addis Ababa to Sudan on Sudan Airlines using a Sudanese
passport.) In rare actions against a member state, the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) on 11 September and again on 19 December called on
Sudan to extradite the three IG suspects believed to have been involved
in the assassination attempt and to stop aiding terrorism.
In an apparent attempt at damage control not long after the
assassination attempt, President Bashir removed the head of Sudan's
security services and proclaimed a new visa policy requiring Arab
foreigners to obtain visas to enter Sudan. The policy did not apply to
citizens from three state sponsors of terrorism—Iraq, Libya, and Syria—
however, because of bilateral agreements.
Khartoum also permitted Usama Bin Ladin, a denaturalized Saudi citizen
with mujahedin contacts, to use Sudan as a shelter for his radical
Muslim followers and to finance and train militant groups. Bin Ladin,
who lives in Khartoum and owns numerous business enterprises in Sudan,
has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations. He directs funding
and other logistic support through his companies to a number of
extremist causes.
A Sudanese national, who pleaded guilty in February 1995 to various
charges of complicity in the New York City bomb plots foiled by the
Federal Bureau Investigation, alleged that a member of the Sudanese UN
Mission had offered to facilitate access to the UN building in pursuance
of the bombing plot. The Sudanese official also is said to have had full
knowledge of other bombing targets.
Sudan's support to terrorist organizations has included paramilitary
training, indoctrination, money, travel documentation, safe passage, and
refuge in Sudan. Most of the organizations present in Sudan maintain
offices or other types of representation. They use Sudan as a base to
organize some of their operations and to support compatriots elsewhere.
Sudan also serves as a secure transit point and meeting place for
several Iranian-backed terrorist groups.
Syria
There is no evidence that Syrian officials have been directly involved
in planning or executing terrorist attacks since 1986. Damascus
continues to negotiate seriously to achieve a peace accord with Israel
and has taken some steps to restrain the international activities of
these groups. Syria continues to use its influence to moderate Hizballah
and Palestinian rejectionist groups when tension and violence in
southern Lebanon escalate. It has, however, allowed Iran to resupply
Hizballah via Damascus.
At the same time, Syria provides safehaven and support for several
groups that engage in international terrorism. Spokesmen for some of
these groups, particularly Palestinian rejectionists, continue to claim
responsibility for attacks in Israel and the occupied
territories/Palestinian autonomous areas. Several radical terrorist
groups maintain training camps or other facilities on Syrian territory
and in Syrian-controlled areas of Lebanon, such as Ahmad Jibril's
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command (PFLP-GC),
which has its headquarters near Damascus. Syria grants basing privileges
or refuge to a wide variety of groups engaged in terrorism. These
include HAMAS, the PFLP-GC, the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the
Japanese Red Army (JRA).
The terrorist group Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) continues to train in
the Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley), and its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, resides at
least part-time in Syria. The PKK in 1995 conducted—with limited
success—a violent campaign against Turkish tourist spots frequented by
foreigners, as well as other terrorist violence in Europe. Syrian
safehaven for PKK operations was vigorously protested by Turkey and is
the subject of discussions between Syria and Turkey.
Appendix A
Chronology of Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1995
8 January
Algeria
Armed assailants attempted to kill two priests, one French and one
Swiss, belonging to the order of the White Fathers. The priests escaped
unharmed. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) is suspected in the attack.
12 January
Egypt
Suspected members of al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group or IG)
opened fire on a passenger train. Six passengers, including two
Argentine tourists, were injured.
15 January
Cambodia
A US tourist was killed and her husband was seriously wounded when Khmer
Rouge rebels attacked their sightseeing convoy. A tour guide also was
killed when the assailants fired a rocket at the van.
18 January
Colombia
Members of the People's Liberation Army kidnapped a US citizen, working
as an administrative support officer for Cerrejon Coal Mine of Riohacha,
in La Guajira.
Sierra Leone
Five Europeans and at least three Sierra Leoneans were kidnapped by
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels. All of the victims were
employed by the Swiss-owned Sierra Leone Ore and Metal Company
(Sieromco).
22 January
Algeria
Gunmen shot and killed a Frenchman as he drove through a park. A woman
also was injured in the attack. The GIA is suspected.
24 January
United Kingdom
An unidentified assailant shot and killed a Sikh newspaper editor, a
known advocate for an independent Sikh state. No one claimed
responsibility for the attack.
25 January
Sierra Leone
The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) raided a mission near the Guinea
border, taking 100 hostages. Seven nuns—six Italians and one Brazilian—
were among the captives.
26 January
Colombia
Seven guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) kidnapped three
Venezuelan Corpoven engineers and killed a fourth near La Victoria.
31 January
Colombia
Suspected guerrillas kidnapped two Brazilian engineers at an abandoned
hydroelectric dam. The engineers are employed by the Swiss Company,
ASEA.
14 February
Pakistan
Three gunmen shot and killed a former Afghan Brigadier at his residence.
The victim was affiliated with the moderate, pro-Afghanistan Council for
Understanding and National Unity (CUNA). No group claimed
responsibility, but Gulbuddin Hikmatyar's Hizb-I-Islami organization is
suspected.
24 February
Jordan
A French diplomat posted to the French Embassy was shot and wounded by
two assailants while he was sightseeing with his wife. No group claimed
responsibility for the attack.
27 February
Greece
Khidir Abd al-Abbas Hamza, a defecting Iraqi former nuclear scientist,
was abducted in Athens while he was attempting to call a newspaper
office from a phone booth. The Iraqi Ambassador in Athens has denied any
Iraqi involvement, but the incident is similar to other Iraqi Government
sponsored abductions.
28 February
Peru
An explosive device containing about 500 grams (one pound) of dynamite
detonated on the sidewalk across the street from the US Embassy in Lima.
3 March
Algeria
A Palestinian student attending the Algerian Arab College was murdered
by an armed group who stormed the area where he and his family lived.
The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) is suspected.
8 March
Pakistan
Two unidentified gunmen armed with AK-47 assault rifles opened fire on a
US Consulate van in Karachi, killing two US diplomats and wounding a
third. The Pakistani driver was not hurt.
27 March
Bahrain
A Pakistani man burned to death when a video store was set on fire. No
group claimed responsibility for the attack.
31 March
Israel
One Israeli civilian was killed and 20 others were wounded when
suspected Hizballah members fired Katyusha rockets into western Galilee.
5 April
Honduras
Morazanist Patriotic Front (FPM) guerrillas claimed responsibility for a
leaflet propaganda bomb that exploded in front of a Tegucigalpa building
that houses US, German, and Spanish press agencies. The attack caused
minor damage to nearby buildings.
9 April
Gaza Strip
A suicide bomber crashed an explosive-rigged van into an Israeli bus,
killing a US citizen and seven Israelis. Over 50 other persons,
including two US citizens, were injured. The Palestine Islamic Jihad
(PIJ)–Shaqaqi Faction claimed responsibility for the attack.
Georgia
Assailants attacked the T'bilisi residence of the Russian special envoy
and the headquarters of Russian troops in the Transcaucasus. There were
no injuries. A group calling itself the Algeti Wolves claimed
responsibility for the attack in revenge for events in Chechnya and for
the signing of the treaty on Russian military bases in Georgia.
19 April
Colombia
Members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) kidnapped two Italian oil
workers from their car and killed their Colombian driver near
Barrancabermeja.
21 April
Turkey
An attempted car bombing in front of the Iranian Consulate General in
Istanbul killed a tow truck driver. The illegally parked vehicle was
towed to an open parking lot where it detonated, killing the driver and
damaging 18 other vehicles. No group has claimed responsibility.
22 April
Netherlands
Two Turkish citizens were shot by Kurdish extremists at a coffeehouse in
The Hague. Four men were arrested in connection with the attack.
29 April
Somalia
A foreign businessman was killed near Chisimayu by Islamic
fundamentalists.
5 May
Algeria
Suspected members of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) attacked employees of
a pipeline company, killing two Frenchmen, a Briton, a Canadian, and a
Tunisian. One Algerian security guard was also killed and at least six
other guards were injured.
Israel
Hizballah launched at least eight Katyusha rockets that struck near
Qiryat Shemona. Four Israeli civilians were wounded in the attack.
7 May
Algeria
Armed assailants ambushed a two-vehicle advance for a convoy of
foreigners, including Britons and Canadians, being escorted from a
worksite to their accommodation camp. Several security forces were
killed or wounded, but there were no foreign casualties.
15 May
Peru
Five alleged Sendero Luminoso (SL) members held up a bus near Chimbote
and robbed some 50 passengers, including three US citizens. The
assailants, wearing ski masks painted with a red hammer and sickle,
threatened passengers with machineguns and grenades.
22 May
Colombia
Approximately one kilo of dynamite detonated under a metal security door
of a Dunkin Donuts restaurant in Bogota. The damage was estimated at
$18,000. No injuries were reported and no group has claimed
responsibility for the attack.
23 May
Sierra Leone
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels abducted three Lebanese
businessmen during attacks on towns in the Lebanese community of the
diamond district of Kono.
24 May
Peru
Presumed members of Sendero Luminoso (SL) detonated a 50-kg car bomb in
front of the Maria Angola Hotel in a suburb of Lima, killing three hotel
employees and a passerby. About 30 others were injured.
31 May
Colombia
Seven National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas kidnapped a US citizen
and three Colombians at the Verde Limon Gold Mine in Zaragoza. Shortly
afterward, the Colombian Army freed the captives in a confrontation that
left one Colombian hostage and two guerrillas dead.
5 June
Nicaragua
Three members of the Recontra 380 occupied the Chilean Embassy in
Managua and took hostage the husband of Ambassador Laura Sota. The
abductors left a package they claimed was a bomb and fled without making
any reported statements or demands. The kidnap victim was released
unharmed a few hours later.
7 June
Algeria
Suspected members of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) shot and killed a
French couple in Algiers. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
24 June
Colombia
Unknown guerrillas abducted the son of a British Exxon employee in
Formeque and demanded a ransom of $500,000. On 12 August, during the
course of negotiations, the victim's body was found.
25 June
Pakistan
Five gunmen kidnapped three German engineers and a Pakistani driver in
the North-West Frontier Province. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of
ten million rupees. One of the Germans and the Pakistani were released
on 3 July, at which time the kidnappers added the release of four
prisoners in Peshawar to their demands. The other two hostages were
freed unharmed on 13 July. It does not appear that the demands were met.
26 June
Ethiopia
Al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya claimed responsibility for a failed
assassination attempt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis
Ababa. As his motorcade headed from the airport to a meeting of the
Organization of African Unity, two vehicles tried to block the road, and
several gunmen fired at his armored limousine. President Mubarak was not
injured. Two Ethiopian military guards died and one was wounded in the
exchange of gunfire; two gunmen were killed and two others captured. The
Palestinian Ambassador to Ethiopia also was injured.
3 July
Germany
Attackers smashed the windows of three vehicles at a Chrysler car
dealership in Kassel. They also broke the salesroom window and scrawled
graffiti protesting the scheduled execution of Mumia Abu Jamal, a
convicted murderer, in Pennsylvania.
4-8 July
India
Six tourists—two US citizens, two Britons, a Norwegian, and a German—
were taken hostage in Kashmir by the previously unknown militant group
Al-Faran, which demanded the release of Muslim militants held in Indian
prisons. Al-Faran may be part of the Kashmiri separatist group Harakat
ul-Ansar based in Pakistan. One of the US citizens escaped on 8 July. On
13 August, Al-Faran murdered the Norwegian; his decapitated body was
found with the name Al-Faran carved on his stomach and a note stating
that the other hostages also would be killed if the group's demands were
not met. The Indian Government has refused to comply with their demands.
11 July
France
Two assailants assassinated a cofounder of the Algerian Islamic
Salvation Front and his bodyguard in a Paris mosque. No one claimed
responsibility for the murders. Earlier this year Algerian publications
reportedly received a communique from the Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
listing their priority targets, including the victim.
13 July
Turkey
Kurdish separatists abducted a Japanese tourist at a rebel checkpoint
near Siirt. No demands were made, and the kidnappers released the
hostage unharmed on 17 July. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is
suspected.
25 July
France
A bomb detonated aboard a Paris subway train as it arrived at St. Michel
station, killing seven commuters and wounding 86.
5 August
Greece
A small improvised bomb detonated at a Citibank branch in Athens,
causing minor damage. The Anti-Regime Nuclei (ARN) later claimed
responsibility.
10 August
Germany
Assailants firebombed a vehicle parked at a US-owned Chrysler dealership
in a small German city. No one was injured. A letter left at the scene
identified the perpetrators as members of the Anti-Imperialistic Group
Liberty for Mumia Abu Jamal.
12 August
Colombia
Members of the Jaime Bateman Cayon Front, a remnant of the 19 April
Movement, kidnapped a British diplomat and a Colombian colleague along a
highway near Tolima Department. On learning of the British official's
diplomatic status, the terrorists demanded an unspecified ransom to free
him. They released the Colombian national.
17 August
France
A nail-filled bomb detonated in a trash bin near a subway entrance in
Paris injuring 17 people. Among those injured were four Hungarians, four
Italians, three Portuguese, one German, and one Briton. Authorities
determined a similar explosive device was used in the Paris subway
bombing on 25 July.
20 August
France
Assailants threw a molotov cocktail at a building in Paris that houses a
Turkish sporting and cultural association, injuring six persons and
causing minor damage. Witnesses reported seeing three people flee the
scene. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) may be responsible for the
attack.
21 August
Israel
A bomb exploded on a bus in Jerusalem, killing six persons, including
one US citizen, and wounding two other US citizens and over 100 others.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic
Resistance Movement (HAMAS), claimed responsibility.
24 August
Pakistan
Sixteen men armed with steel pipes and at least one gun vandalized the
BBC office in Islamabad. The attackers destroyed equipment and files,
bombed the entry hall, and destroyed two cars. The BBC chief
correspondent, a Canadian, and a Pakistani BBC staff member escaped with
minor injuries. The radical Sunni organization Sipah-I-Sahaba Pakistan
(SSP) claimed responsibility, although the group's leader stated that he
had ordered only a peaceful demonstration to protest the BBC airing of a
documentary about the group.
27 August
Spain
Arsonists in San Sebastian doused a car bearing French license plates
with gasoline and ignited it. There were no injuries. Authorities
believe a support group of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) is
responsible.
1 September
Colombia
Guerrillas intercepted and kidnapped a US businessman and his Colombian
partner in Cali. The captors, five armed masked men, took the two men to
a jungle camp. The Colombian negotiated a $30,000 ransom for his US
partner, who was released on 22 September. No group has claimed
responsibility.
Colombia
In Santa Marta, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas
destroyed containers of bananas belonging to the US company Dole.
2 September
Algeria
Suspected Armed Islamic Group (GIA) militants shot and killed an Italian
national in Oran.
3 September
Algeria
Unidentified assailants shot and killed two nuns in the Belcourt
district of Algiers. One of the victims was French and the other
Maltese. Authorities suspect the Armed Islamic Group (GIA).
5 September
West Bank
Unknown assailants stabbed to death an Israeli settler of British origin
and wounded his US-born wife in the settlement of Ma'ale Mikmas, near
Ram Allah. An anonymous caller claimed responsibility in the name of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The caller stated
the attack was in retaliation for the arrest of three PFLP activists and
the continued detention of a PFLP politburo member, imprisoned for three
years.
Germany
Arsonists attacked two Turkish-owned facilities. In Luebeck, arsonists
set fire to a bistro. Two persons died and 20 were injured. Arsonists
also firebombed a nightclub in Freital. There were no injuries.
Authorities suspect the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
7 September
India
A woman claiming to be from the militant group Dukhtaran-e-Millat
delivered a parcel bomb to the office of the BBC in Srinagar, Kashmir.
The bomb exploded later in the hands of a free lance photographer for
Agence France–Presse, who died on 10 September from his injuries. The
blast wounded two others and caused major damage. Dukhtaran-e-Millat
denied responsibility for the bombing.
13 September
Russia
Unidentified assailants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the US
Embassy in Moscow, causing minor damage to a sixth-floor office. No
injuries were reported. Authorities suspect the attack was in
retaliation for US participation in NATO airstrikes against Bosnian Serb
targets.
20 September
Austria
In Vienna, assailants attempted to firebomb