Timeline of al-Qaeda attacks

The following is a list of attacks which have been allegedly carried out by Al-Qaeda.

Early 1990s

On December 29, 1992, the first attack by Al Qaeda was carried out in Aden, Yemen. That evening, a bomb went off at the Gold Mohur hotel, where U.S. troops had been staying while en-route to Somalia, though the troops had already left when the bomb exploded. The bombers targeted a second hotel, the Aden Movenpick, where they believed American troops might also be staying. That bomb detonated prematurely in the hotel car park, around the same time as the other bomb explosion, killing two Australian tourists. Bin Laden later claimed that he and Isthibshar irfan was responsible for the 1992 Yemen attack.So Sri Lankan police team was chasing the suspects, while they were escaping in Mohommad Iraham's fathers' threewheeler to the local mulla station situated in Nawala.

February 1993 World Trade Center

The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when Ramzi Yousef parked a rented van full of explosives in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center. The explosion claimed six victims, and over one thousand people were wounded. Ramzi Yousef, the nephew of 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, had trained in Afghanistan, although Khalid Sheikh Mohammed did not join Al Qaeda until 1998. Yousef worked in cooperation with the blind sheikh Abdul Rahman who was living across the Hudson, in Jersey City, at the time of the attack. The FBI later turned up evidence that Osama bin Laden, who was never indicted for having a role in the bombing, provided financial support to the blind sheikh.Omar Abdul-Rahman.

1994 Bojinka, Philippine Airlines Flight 434

Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (prior to joining with Al Qaeda) planned Operation Bojinka, a plot to destroy airplanes in mid-Pacific flight using explosives. They tested their attacks in November 1994 on the Philippine Airlines Flight 434, which also involved Abu Sayyaf (a Southeast Asia affiliate of Al Qaeda). An apartment fire in Manila, Philippines exposed the plan before it could be carried out. Yousef was arrested, but Mohammed evaded capture until 2003.

1998 U.S.-embassy bombings

In August 1998, Al-Qaeda operatives carried out the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 5,000 others.

2000 USS Cole bombing

USS Cole after it was bombed

In December 1999 and into 2000, al-Qaeda planned attacks against U.S. and Israeli tourists visiting Jordan for millennial celebrations; however, Jordanian authorities thwarted the planned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial. Part of this plot included the planned bombing of LAX, but this plot was foiled when bomber Ahmed Ressam was caught at the US-Canadian border with explosives in the trunk of his car. Al-Qaeda also planned to attack the USS The Sullivans on January 3, 2000, but the effort failed due to too much weight being put on the small boat meant to bomb the ship.

Despite the setback with the USS The Sullivans, al-Qaeda succeeded in bombing a U.S. warship in October 2000 with the USS Cole bombing.

German police foiled Strasbourg cathedral bombing plotters a plot to bomb the Christmas market near the Strasbourg Cathedral in Strasbourg, France in December 2000.

• Rizal Day Bombings in the Philippines (2000)

September 11, 2001, attacks

Main article: September 11 attacks

The most destructive act ascribed to al-Qaeda was the series of attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. These attacks destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon and crashed another plane in a series of suicide hijacking of airplanes. Osama bin Laden did take credit for the attacks days before the 2004 Presidential Election.^{[citation needed]}

October 2002 Bali bombings

Main article: 2002 Bali bombings

The 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia, killing 202 people, (including 88 Australians, and 38 Indonesian citizens). A further 240 people were injured.

November 2003 Istanbul attacks

Main article: 2003 Istanbul bombings

The 2003 Istanbul bombings were four truck bomb attacks carried out on November 15, 2003 and November 20, 2003, in Istanbul, Turkey, leaving 57 people dead, and 700 wounded. Several men have been convicted for their involvement.

February 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing

The 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing on February 27, 2004, was an Islamic terrorist attack that resulted in the sinking of the ferry SuperFerry 14 and the deaths of 116 people in the Philippines.

March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings

Main article: 2004 Madrid train bombings

It is thought that al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing of the Madrid commuter train system, 911 days after the 9/11 attacks. However, the group did not claim any responsibility of this attack.

May 2004 Khobar massacre

Al-Qaeda is believed to have been responsible for the 2004 Khobar massacre, carried out on May 29, 2004.

July 7, 2005 London transport bombings

Four members of Al-Qaeda, three of British Pakistani descent and one of British Jamaican descent attacked London's public transport on July 7, 2005. Three bombs were detonated on the London Underground and one on a double decker bus. The attacks took place between 8.50 am and 9.47 am. 56 people died during the attacks (including 4 terrorists) and around 700 were injured.

July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks

The 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks attacks were a series of terror attacks on July 23, 2005, perpetrated by an Islamist organization, targeting the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

November 9, 2005 Amman hotel bombing

Suicide bombers merged into a wedding crowd in Hayatt Amman Hotel, with two other hotels targeted in the same night leaving 60 people dead and hundreds injured.

April 2007 Algiers bombings

Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb claimed to have been responsible for the April 11, 2007 Algiers bombings. Two bombs exploded within a short time of each other, one at the prime ministers office and the other at a police station. The blasts killed 33 people. It was the first time a bombing had occurred in the capital in more than a decade.

February 2008 Kandahar bombing

The 2008 Kandahar bombing of February 17, 2008 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was an attack targeting a crowd of people watching a dog-fighting competition.

June 2, 2008 Danish-embassy bombing

Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan on June 2, 2008. A car bomb killed six people and injured several. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a high-ranking member of Al-Qaeda, issued a statement after the bombing, claiming that the attack was a response to the 2005 publication of the Muhammed Cartoons.

June 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting

Main article: 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting

On June 1, 2009, Muslim convert Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad opened fire in a drive-by shooting on a United States military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, killing one US soldier and wounding another. At the time he stated that the act was "for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military" and law enforcement authorities concluded "there doesn't appear to be a wider conspiracy or, at this point in time, any indication that he's a part of a larger group or a conspiracy". However he later professed that he had conducted a "Jihadi attack" as part of Al Qaeda.

December 2009 Northwest Airlines Flight 253

Main article: Northwest Airlines Flight 253

Shortly after the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in the December 25, 2009 bombing attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, the suspect reportedly told officials he had traveled to Yemen for training by Al-Qaeda, although British counterterrorism officials dismissed the claims. President Barack Obama's top security official Janet Napolitano on December 27 stated "Right now we have no indication it's part of anything larger", warning it would be "inappropriate to speculate" that Al-Qaeda had sent Abdulmutallab on a suicide mission. On December 28, President Obama called it an "attempted terrorist attack" and promised to "to use every element of our national power to disrupt, to dismantle and defeat the violent extremists who threaten us, whether they are from Afghanistan or Pakistan, Yemen or Somalia...". That same day, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack. The group released photos of Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab smiling in a white shirt and white Islamic skullcap with the Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula banner in the background. On January 8, 2010, President Barack Obama took responsibility for security lapses exposed by the attack, declaring in televised remarks "We are at war against Al-Qaeda", noting "our adversaries will seek new ways to evade them, as was shown by the Christmas attack" By February 2010, the suspect told federal investigators that cleric Anwar al-Awlaki gave him orders to carry out the attack. Al-Jazeera reported that Awlaki issued a statement that "Brother mujahed Umar Farouk – may God relieve him – is one of my students, yes... We had kept in contact, but I didn't issue a fatwa to Umar Farouk for this operation,".

Dec 30, 2009

December 30, 2009 a massive IED strikes a Canadian LAV3 RWS killing 5 and wounding 5.

An Al-Qaeda agent posing as a double agent killed 7 CIA officers in the 2009 Khost CIA bombing on December 4, 2008. The Jordanian man, thought to be an American asset penetrating Al-Qaeda was brought in the wire of the camp and detonated an explosive belt, killing 7 CIA, 1 Jordanian intelligence officer, and seriously wounding six others.

October 2010 cargo plane bomb plot

On October 29, 2010, two packages, each containing a bomb consisting of 300 to 400 grams (11–14 oz) of plastic explosives and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia's security chief. They were bound from Yemen to the United States, and were discovered at en route stop-overs, in England and in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

One week later, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took responsibility for the plot. U.S. and British authorities had believed that AQAP, and specifically Anwar al-Awlaki, were behind the bombing attempts. They also believed the bombs were most likely constructed by AQAP's main explosives expert, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri.

Iraq attacks

August 2003 Imam Ali Mosque bombing

The Imam Ali Mosque bombing was the detonation of two car bombs outside of the Shia Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf on August 29, 2003

February 2004 Irbil bombings

Main article: 2004 Irbil bombings

The 2004 Irbil bombings was a double suicide attack on the offices of Kurdish political parties in Irbil, Iraq, north of Baghdad on February 2, 2004. The attackers detonated explosives strapped to their bodies as hundreds gathered to celebrate Eid Al-Adha in Irbil.

March 2004 Iraq Ashura bombings

Main article: 2 March 2004 Iraq Ashura bombings

The Ashura massacre of March 2, 2004 in Iraq was a series of planned terrorist explosions that killed at least 178 and injured at least 500 Iraqi Shi'a Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura. The bombings brought one of the deadliest days in the Iraq occupation after the Iraq War to topple Saddam Hussein.

April 2004 Basra bombings

21 April 2004 Basra bombings were a series of large car bomb explosions which ripped through Basra, Iraq.

July 2005 Musayyib bombing

Main article: 2005 Musayyib bombing

The 2005 Musayyib bombing was a suicide attack on a marketplace in Musayyib, Iraq, a town 35 miles south of Baghdad on July 16, 2005.

September 2005 Baghdad bombings

The 14 September 2005 Baghdad bombings were a series of more than a dozen terrorist attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

November 2005 Khanaqin bombings

2005 Khanaqin bombings were suicide attacks on two Shia mosques in Khanaqin, Iraq.

April 2006 Buratha Mosque bombing

The Buratha Mosque bombing was a triple suicide bombing that occurred on April 7, 2006 in Baghdad.

November 2006 Sadr City, Iraq bombings

Main article: 23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings

The 2006 Sadr City bombings were a series of car bombs and mortar attacks in Iraq that began on 23 November at 15:10 Baghdad time (12:10 Greenwich Mean Time) and ended at 15:55 (12:55 GMT). Six car bombs and two mortar rounds were used in the attack on the Shi'ite Muslim slum in Sadr City.

February 2007 Baghdad market bombing

The 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing was the detonation of a large truck bomb in a busy market in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on 3 February 2007. The suicide attack killed at least 135 people and injured 339 others.

March 2007 Tal Afar bombings

The 2007 Tal Afar bombings and massacre took place on March 27, 2007, when two truck bombs targeted Shia areas of the town of Tal Afar, Iraq, killing 152 and wounding 347 people.

April 2007 Baghdad Iraq bombings

Main article: 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings

The 18 April 2007 Baghdad bombings were a series of attacks that occurred when five car bombs exploded across Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq, on 18 April 2007, killing nearly 200 people.

August 14, 2007 Yazidi community Iraq bombing

The 2007 Yazidi communities bombings occurred at around 8pm local time on August 14, 2007, when four co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks detonated in the Kurdish towns of Qahtaniya and Jazeera (Siba Sheikh Khidir), near Mosul. Iraqi Red Crescent's estimates say the bombs killed 796 and wounded 1,562 people, making this the Iraq War's most deadly car bomb attack during the period of major American combat operations.

August 2009 Baghdad bombings

Main article: 19 August 2009 Baghdad bombings

The 19 August 2009 Baghdad bombings were three coordinated car bomb attacks and a number of mortar strikes in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

October 2009 Baghdad bombings

Main article: 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings

On 25 October 2009 Baghdad bombings there were attacks in Baghdad, Iraq which killed 155 people and injured at least 721 people.

April 2010 Baghdad bombings

The April 2010 Baghdad bombings were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq that killed at least 85 people over two days.

May 2010 Iraq attacks

The 10 May 2010 Iraq attacks were a series of bomb and shooting attacks that occurred in Iraq on 10 May 2010, killing over 100 people and injuring 350, the highest death toll for a single day in Iraq in 2010.

November 2010

The 2 November 2010 Baghdad bombings were a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad, Iraq, that killed more than 110 people.

January 2011 Iraq suicide attacks

The January 2011 Iraq suicide attacks were a series of three consecutive suicide bombings in Iraq which left at least 133 dead.

References

• Wright, Lawrence (2006). The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 037541486X. 

External links

• Major Terrorist Acts Suspected of or Inspired by al-Qaeda – Infoplease.com