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more terrorist attacks on US citizens, and others
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1979
- Nov. 4, Tehran, Iran:
Iranian radical students seized the U.S. embassy, taking 66 hostages. 14 were
later released. The remaining 52 were freed after 444 days on the day of
President Reagan's inauguration.
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1982–1991
- Lebanon:
Thirty US and other Western hostages kidnapped in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some
were killed, some died in captivity, and some were eventually released. Terry
Anderson was held for 2,454 days.
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1983
- April 18, Beirut,
Lebanon: U.S. embassy destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack; 63 dead,
including 17 Americans. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
- Oct. 23, Beirut,
Lebanon: Shiite suicide bombers exploded truck near U.S. military
barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 marines. Minutes later a second bomb
killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut.
- Dec. 12, Kuwait City,
Kuwait: Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other
targets, killing 5 and injuring 80.
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1984
- Sept. 20, east Beirut,
Lebanon: truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy annex, killing
24, including 2 U.S. military.
- Dec. 3, Beirut,
Lebanon: Kuwait Airways Flight 221, from Kuwait to Pakistan, hijacked
and diverted to Tehran. 2 Americans killed.
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1985
- April 12, Madrid,
Spain: Bombing at restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers, killed 18
Spaniards and injured 82.
- June 14, Beirut,
Lebanon: TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome hijacked to
Beirut by Hezbollah terrorists and held for 17 days. A U.S. Navy diver
executed.
- Oct. 7, Mediterranean
Sea: gunmen attack Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. One
U.S. tourist killed. Hijacking linked to Libya.
- Dec. 18, Rome, Italy,
and Vienna, Austria: airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing
20 people, 5 of whom were Americans. Bombing linked to Libya.
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1986
- April 2, Athens,
Greece:A bomb exploded aboard TWA flight 840 en route from Rome to
Athens, killing 4 Americans and injuring 9.
- April 5, West Berlin,
Germany: Libyans bombed a disco frequented by U.S. servicemen,
killing 2 and injuring hundreds.
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1988
- Dec. 21, Lockerbie,
Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a
terrorist bomb and crashed into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and
11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many
U.S. military personnel. Libya formally admitted responsibility 15 years later
(Aug. 2003) and offered $2.7 billion compensation to victims' families.
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1993
- Feb. 26, New York
City: bomb exploded in basement garage of
World Trade Center, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others. In 1995,
militant Islamist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 9 others were convicted of
conspiracy charges, and in 1998, Ramzi Yousef, believed to have been the
mastermind, was convicted of the bombing. Al-Qaeda involvement is suspected.
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1995
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- Nov. 13, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia: car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters, killing 5
U.S. military servicemen.
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1996
- June 25, Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military
complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. 13
Saudis and a Lebanese, all alleged members of Islamic militant group
Hezbollah, were
indicted on charges relating to the attack in June 2001.
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1998
- Aug. 7, Nairobi,
Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost
simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in
Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda 2 of whom
had received training at
al-Qaeda camps inside
Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings
in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had
indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident
Osama bin Laden, who
remained at large.
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2000
- Oct. 12, Aden,
Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a
small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it. 17 sailors killed.
Linked to
Osama bin Laden, or
members of
al-Qaeda terrorist
network.
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2001
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Sept. 11, New York City, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville,
Pa.: hijackers crashed 2 commercial
jets into twin towers of World Trade Center; 2 more hijacked jets were crashed
into the Pentagon and a field in rural Pa. Total dead and missing numbered
2,9921: 2,749 in New York City, 184 at the Pentagon, 40 in Pa., and
19 hijackers. Islamic al-Qaeda terrorist group blamed. (See
September 11, 2001: Timeline of Terrorism.)
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2002
- June 14, Karachi,
Pakistan: bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi,
Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.
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2003
- May 12, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia: suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing
compounds for Westerners. Al-Qaeda suspected.
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2004
- May 29–31, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia: terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in
Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential
compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.
- June 11–19, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia: terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an
American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed
by gun attacks.
- Dec. 6, Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia: terrorists storm the U.S. consulate, killing 5 consulate
employees. 4 terrorists were killed by Saudi security.
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2005
- Nov. 9, Amman, Jordan:
Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in
Amman, Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
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On Oct. 29,
2003, New York officials reduced the number of people killed at the World
Trade Center in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States
by 40 names. The list of casualties dropped to 2,752 from 2,792 for a variety
of reasons: some people initially reported missing have been found, there were
duplicate names, there was no proof that a person was at the World Trade
Center that day, and because of fraud. On January 2004, the number was reduced
by 3 more to 2,749.
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