James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction with training & analysis

CNS Reports

The Center for Nonproliferation Studies has compiled the following list of significant conventional terrorist incidents from 1980-2000 to provide context for the terrorist attacks conducted on 11 September 2001.

Date: October 12, 2000
Target: Military
Weapon Type: Suicide Bomber
Summary: On October 12, 2000, a small boat (dingy) carrying explosives rammed the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. Seventeen people died and 39 US personnel were injured.

Date: September 1999
Target: Private Residence
Weapon Type: Bomb
Summary: In September, 1999, bombs exploded in an apartment block in Moscow, Russia. Ninety-four people were killed and 152 people were injured as a result of the bombings.

Date: August 15, 1998
Target: Government
Weapon Type: Car Bomb
Summary: On August 15, 1998, a 500-pound car bomb exploded outside a local courthouse in the central shopping district of Omagh, Northern Ireland. Authorities were in the process of clearing the shopping area around the courthouse when the bomb exploded. Twenty-nine people were killed and 330 people were injured.

Date: August 7, 1998
Target: Government Embassy
Weapon Type: Truck Bomb
Summary: On August 7, 1998, a truck bomb exploded outside the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Two hundred and twelve people were killed and 4,022 people were injured.

Date: August 7, 1998
Target: Government Embassy
Weapon Type: Truck Bomb
Summary: On August 7, 1998, a truck bomb exploded outside the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Eleven people were killed and 87 people were injured.

Date: June 25, 1996
Target: Military Barracks
Weapon Type: Truck Bomb
Summary: On June 25, 1996, a truck bomb exploded near the United States Military Barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Nineteen people were killed and 515 people were injured.

Date: January 31, 1996
Target: Bank
Weapon Type: Truck Bomb
Summary: On January 31, 1996, a truck containing explosives rammed into the Central Bank in the heart of downtown Colombo, Sri Lanka. The truck bomb exploded causing major damage to the Central Bank building, an American Express office, the Intercontinental Hotel, and several other buildings. Ninety people were killed and 1400 were injured.

Date: April 19, 1995
Target: Government Building
Weapon Type: Truck Bomb
Summary: On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah building, in Oklahoma City, United States. One hundred and sixty-eight people were killed and 250 people were injured. Timothy McVeigh was convicted and later executed for the bombing.

Date: July 18, 1994
Target: Government Building
Weapon Type: Car Bomb
Summary: On July 18, 1994, a car bomb exploded at the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA) in Argentina, causing the seven-story building to collapse and damaging adjacent buildings. Forty-six people were killed and 200 were injured.

Date: December 24, 1994
Target: Airliner
Weapon Type: Hijacking
Summary: On December 24, 1994, four terrorists hijacked an Air Algerie airliner. Originally the terrorists intended to crash the airliner into Paris, France, but their plot failed. All the terrorists were killed along with four passengers.

Date: February 26, 1993
Target: Building
Weapon Type: Truck Bomb
Summary: On February 26, 1993, a massive truck bomb exploded in an underground parking garage below the World Trade Center in New York City, United States. Six people were killed and 1,042 people were injured; Ramsi Yousef and other co-conspirators were convicted for the bombing.

Date: March 17, 1992
Target: Government Building
Weapon Type: Car Bomb
Summary: On March 17, 1992, a car bomb exploded outside the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Twenty-nine people were killed and 242 people were injured.

Date: November 27, 1989
Target: Airliner
Weapon Type: Bomb
Summary: On November 27, 1989, a bomb exploded on an Avianca aircraft in Bogota, Colombia. One hundred and seven people were killed.

Date: September 19, 1989
Target: Airliner
Weapon Type: Bomb
Summary: On September 19, 1989, a bomb exploded aboard a French UTA airliner in Niger. One hundred and seventy-one people were killed.

Date: December 21, 1988
Target: Airliner
Weapon Type: Bomb
Summary: On December 21, 1988, a bomb in the baggage compartment of Pan Am Flight 103 exploded in midair, 31,000 feet above Lockerbie, Scotland. Two hundred and seventy people were killed in the explosion. Two Libyan nationals, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, were tried for the attack. In February 2001, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was convicted of murder for carrying out the bombing and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was found not guilty.

Date: June 23, 1985
Target: Airliner
Weapon Type: Bomb
Summary: On June 23, 1985, a bomb planted in a suitcase exploded on Air India Flight 182 and destroyed the aircraft. Three hundred and twenty-nine people were killed.

Date: October 23, 1983
Target: Military Barracks
Weapon Type: Truck Bomb
Summary: On October 23, 1983, a truck bomb exploded outside a building housing US Marines in Beirut, Lebanon. Two hundred and forty-one Marines were killed.