Terrorism Timeline
In the recent past, the threat of terrorism has hit not only America but also different parts of the world. One of the major terrorist attacks that ever happened was 9/11, which has since stuck into the memories of millions of people in America. The terrorist attacks have killed thousands of people across the world. Others have also experienced severe injuries. This form of writing explains both domestic and international terrorist events before and after 9/11. It will give the name of the terrorist or terrorist organization, the motive of the act, where it took place, and when it occurred.
Colombo Central Bank Bombing, Sri Lanka
The attack was carried out in the capital city of Colombo by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The group, which was also known as the Tamil Tigers, had been fighting for the independence of the Tamil nation made suicide bombing as its trademark of the fight (Ramasubramanian, 2004). The leading causes of the fighting were ethnicity and autonomy, with the main target being the Sri Lankan state and society. It took place on 31st January 1996, by a truck (42-6452) that carried about 440 pounds of high explosives (Ramasubramanian, 2004). It happened at the main gate of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka after gunmen exchanged fire with the guards, and a suicide bomber detonated a massive bomb. At the same time, a three-wheeler that carried two LTTE armed cadres used their automatic rifles and RPG launcher killing 91 people and injuring 1400 others.
US Embassy bombings, Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam
On 7th August 1998, the US embassies in both Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam were bombed. It involved two suicide truck bombing killing 224 people and injuring 4500 (US Dept of State, & United States of America, 1999). The attack was linked with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Among those who were killed were American Embassy employees, and the damage to the building was massive, reducing much of the interior to rubble. They intended to destroy properties and cause loss of lives to avenge US involvement in the extradition and alleged torture of the terrorist group members. The bomb exploded in the rear parking lot of the US Embassies, and there was no recent tactical intelligence that alerted the embassies (US Dept of State, & United States of America, 1999).
Omagh Bombing
The Omagh bombing occurred on 15th August 1998 in Northern Ireland at Country Tyrone, killing 31 people and 220 injured (Potter & Carter, 2000). It was a car bombing, and the terrorist group was the Real Irish Republican Army. This was a splinter group opposed to the ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement (Potter & Carter, 2000). They were fighting for the acceptance of the National Liberation Strategy, among others.
London Nail Bombings
The London nail bombings occurred on 17th April 1999, and the terrorist’s name was David Copeland, who left off three nail bombs in Brixton, Brick Lane, and Oho (Hart, Mannion, Earnshaw & Ward, 2003). The bombings killed three people and left 100 people injured. The first explosion was experienced outside a supermarket in Brixton. London and the injuries were due to penetrating nails because each bomb had up to 1,500 four-inch nails with the motive being Neo-Nazism/ starting a race war in England. The target was Brick lane’s busy market day.
Twin Bomb Blasts at the Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon bombing took place on 15th April 2013 near the finish line (Sheridan, Struck & Fisher, 2013). It involved the explosion of two pressure-cooker bombs that were hidden inside backpacks and related shootings. In the event, three people were killed, and 264 others were left injured. The culprits were the Chechen brothers-Dzhokhar and Tamerlane, who were motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs (Sheridan, Struck & Fisher, 2013). The Boston Marathon bombing was due to self-radicalization. Among those who were killed were children, one of them being an 8-year old (Sheridan, Struck & Fisher, 2013). The explosions happened 16 seconds apart, bringing the city into chaos.
Charlie Hebdo Shootings
On 7th January 2015, at around 11:30 am the Charlie Hebdo shooting took place in Paris (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). Two brothers perpetrated it, Said and Cherif Kouachi, who forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper armed with rifles and other weapons killing 12 people and injuring 11 others and destroying the building (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). The brothers who were linked with the Al-Qaeda branch in Yemen were revenging the Islamophobic cartoons and jokes that the company published in its newspapers.
Paris Attack
The Paris Attack took place on 13th November 2015, and it involved suicide bombers who bombed Stade de France and mass shootings at cafes and restaurants. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq, who expressed their displeasure with France’s involvement on-air striking ISIL targets in Syria. About 130 people were killed, and hundreds left injured (CNN Editorial research, 2019).
Orlando Nightclub Shooting
The Orlando Nightclub shooting that took place on 12th June 2016 was perpetrated by a 29-year old security guard who shot people inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fl (Goldman, 2016). He killed 49 people and injured 53 others before police officers from the Orlando Police Department shot and killed him. Omar Mateen swore allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, a leader of ISIL. The motive was to revenge the killing of Waheeb in Iraq (Goldman, 2016).
References
CNN Editorial Research. (2019, 21st December). 2015 Charlie Hebdo Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
CNN Editorial research. (2019, 13th November). 2015 Paris Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
Goldman, D. (2016, 26th June). 3 Hours in Orlando: Piecing Together An Attack And Its Aftermath. The Two-Way.
Hart, A. J., Mannion, S., Earnshaw, P., & Ward, A. (2003). The London nail bombings: the St. Thomas’ Hospital experience. Injury, 34(11), 830-833.
Potter, S. J., & Carter, G. E. (2000). The Omagh bombing–a medical perspective. Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, 146(1), 18-21.
Ramasubramanian, R. (2004). Suicide Terrorism in Sri Lanka. Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.
Sheridan, M., B., Struck, D., & Fisher, M. (2013, 15th April). Boston Marathon Bomb Blasts Kill At least Three, Leaves Scores Injured. The Washington Post.
US Dept of State, & United States of America. (1999). Report of the Accountability Review Boards on the Embassy Bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam on 7th August 1998.