Standing on the Rubicon

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Learning about Islam

A quick reference guide for those who don't have much background:

Islam does not have nearly as many sects and divisions as does Christianity, but there are a few and it is worth knowing something about them. The two biggest are the Sunnis and the Shi'ites, with the Sunnis being the largest of all and representing the vast majority of Muslims. Shi'ites are a minority everywhere except Iran.

After them, the two most influential sects are the Sufis and the Wahhabis. The Sufis represent a mystical tradition in Islam, whereas the Wahhabis are a strict traditionalist tradition which is dominant on the Arabian peninsula, but has little support elsewhere.

Unlike churches, mosques are not denominational. Despite the differences among Muslims, traditional Friday prayer services are largely similar and Muslims of any background are welcome to attend services at any mosque.

Who are the Sunnis?

Who are the Shi'ites?

Who are the Sufis?

Who are the Kahrijites?

Who are the Wahhabis?

Who are the Ismailis?
.

Who are the Zaidis?

Who are the Fatimids?

Who are the Nizari?

Who are the Alawis?

Who are the Druze?

Who are the Baha'i?


http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/blfaq_islam_sects.htm

Other sites that might be useful:

A discussion between the differences between Wahabism and political radicalism in Islam that have followed the influence of Sayyid Qutb:

http://www.thewahhabimyth.com/

Wikipedia's article on the divisions of Islam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divisions_of_Islam

Morning World News Roundup

Afghanistan
Egypt


EU

India

Indonesia


Iran
Iraq


Israel

Lebanon


North Korea

Pakistan

Palestinian situation



Somalia


Sudan

Syria

Turkey

UK



Venezuela

Friday, September 01, 2006

Morning World News Roundup

Afghanistan



EU

India



Iran

Iraq
Israel


Kenya

Lebanon


North Korea


Pakistan

Palestinian situation

Nablus: Palestinians hurl explosives at IDF soldiers
150 protest against separation fence in Bilin
Donors conference raises USD 500 million for Palestinians
2 Kassam Rockets Fired on Friday Morning
Finland: 'EU must conduct talks with Hamas'


Russia


Somalia


Sudan

Syria


Thailand

UK
Thailand still baffled by insurgency


Venezuela



Terrorism

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Something to ponder:

I thought this summed up one of the things that we are dealing with in our era:


Though the West is surely not blameless, either through history or today, in its treatment of Muslims, the idea that responsibility for the woes of the Islamic world these past few hundred years can be laid at somebody else’s door is escapist fantasy.

The nasty regimes of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt conveniently emphasise this victim status to divert attention from their own repression and inequality and to blame Israel. The failure of Palestinians to create an orderly and successful society is blamed on “the occupation”.

The failure of many Muslims in Europe, especially in Britain, to integrate effectively is laid at the feet of a white racist society that excludes them. The real injustices suffered by these communities become a convenient smokescreen to hide their own flaws.

This victim mentality reaches its apotheosis in the minds of a few in the hideous distortion of martyrdom. The image of the suicide bomber captures the ultimate catharsis of victimhood and at the same time the ultimate escape and liberation from it — the violent immolation of the victim on the altar of a sacred ideology. Of course this is a perversion of the very idea of sacrifice. Martyrdom is a willingness to die for one’s faith, not a willingness to take hundreds of innocents with you in the process.

Pierre Rehov, an Algerian-born French filmmaker, who produced a documentary, Suicide Killers, was asked in a TV interview this year how the world could end the madness of suicide bombings and terrorism. “Stop being politically correct and stop believing that this culture is a victim of ours,” he said.

Of course, this celebration of victimhood plays to the West’s deep sense of guilt, producing a fearful complementarity that makes today’s crisis so potent — a civilisation all too willing to accept the blame for the woes of a people all too willing to blame them.


Gerard Baker

We really need to ask ourselves who really is the victim here. Forget the sins of the fathers. All of our fathers have sinned, each and every one, and we all have been marked by their wrongdoing, no matter where we come from.

But today, let us see what is really happening.

Who builds its paramilitary structure right in the heart of civilian areas? Who lobs rockets where they know the most likely targets are civilians? Who calls for the destruction of entire nations, entire peoples? Who has been involved with what? Who was a combatant? Who chose the road of hate, and who tried to make a life? Who set bombs in airplanes full of civilians? Who flew airplanes into other buildings? Who set bombs off so that people on vacation would die? Who encourages the chaos that keeps Gaza a miserable place?

It is not the people on vacation, the people busy at work in New York, the people riding the Tubes in London, the firemen in Sweden who are pelted if they enter the wrong neighborhoods, people whose cars were burned in France, the bystanders who went to the store to have some person sweep the intersection with bullets, the Russian children kidnapped on the first day of school, the baby intentionally targeted by a sniper.

Name things what they truly are, and not what the meme of the day says they are, then make your decisions, one way or the other.



Who talks of hate instead of building? Who talks of death instead of living?

Some News Headlines from Israel

UK embassy thanks Tel Aviv police
Weapon carried by Palestinian in embassy – plastic gun
Special Police Unit take Palestinian in British embassy into custody
Update From TA: Police Nab Arab At British Embassy

IDF Says Reuters Claim of IDF Missile Hit Not True

Abbas, Haniyeh discuss unity government
Palestinians hurl rocks at car; no injuries reported
IDF detonates 2 explosives in central Gaza; no injuries

Italian naval force arrives in Lebanon
IDF sources: Less than 50 percent of south Lebanese territory under UN control
IDF Denies U.N. Has Deployed in Most of Southern Lebanon
Karnit Goldwasser: World leaders must act for soldiers' release
Lebanon's prime minister says no contacts with Israel over prisoner swap
Donors pledge more than US$940 million to rebuild Lebanon
Lebanon Promises Hizbullah Will Not Receive Aid

Iran says atomic report shows US claims baseless
Halevy: We Must Prepare for Iranian Conflict


Peretz Stuns Kadima, May Back State Inquiry
Former Chief of Staff Calls on Leaders to Resign
Atlanta Update: Background of Arrest is Pornography
Braverman Tops Peretz in Poll

More thoughts on the Long War we find ourselves in:

I personally would start the Long War (from the US being victimized by it, and finding out that we were combatants even without knowing it) on June 5, 1968, with the assassination of Bobby Kennedy.

Its' roots are many, and its causes are not simple.

It's complicated.

1) some of it is the reaction to autocratic, secular (more or less) and often corrupt states that rose at the end of the colonial period.

2) some of it is the reaction that comes from having the pressure of the Turkish empire released after a long era of bad government.

3) some of it is a reaction by various different religious leaders who saw what the West was becoming, saw the secular leanings that were taking place all over Islam, and started preaching against it (this is similar to the roots of the English Civil War and the puritians.)

4)Tied into tribalism (extended kinship groups) which is how much of the ME organizes itself.

5) movements within different major sects of Islam (the wahabist impulse vs. a more relaxed approach to Sunni Islam, somewhat a reaction to Sufiism as well, and certainly posed to fight against the heresy (as they see it) of Shiite Islam.

6) Shia on the other hand, got coopted by a movement pushed by Khomenei which saw the Immams as the ones who should be politically active and tell people how they should behave, instead of a more relaxed approach to guiding their flock that was once more common in Shia.

7) a pool of underemployed but educated young men.

8) economic changes in Saudi and some of the other countries which meant there was less chance for these young men to get ahead.

9. Multiple causes to gravitate to: Kashmir in India. The Russians in Afghanistan which led to the rise of the Taliban. The growing desire in Indonesia to create a truly Moslem state. The war in the Philipines with the Islamic forces who have been fighting the government for what seems like forever. And of course, Israel, which is both the symbol of all that is disliked about the west and about non-Islam being like a thorn thrust into the side of those countries near at hand - Israel which took a Palestine that was backwards and not very productive and made it bloom. This is a special poison that has been fed by keeping the Palestinians from integrating with the countries it took refuge in, except for Jordan...they are willingly used as tools to create the disruption and chaos.

10 and the desire for a Caliphate - both the sunni and shiite dream of this...and both are struggling to be king of the mountain.

It is woven together in a multilevel structure, with many twists and turns and ins and outs. It's NOT simple.

But the hatred that keeps the violence happening is fed by religious leaders, from a spectrum of Islamic sects. And as long as the religous leaders teach this hate, it's not going away.



When I was working on the list of Islamic terrorist actions, I discovered that back in the start of this period, there was a lot of action by several groups:

Leftwing US and European groups (The Weathermen, the Red Brigade and so on)

The IRA

The ETA

and a few smaller nationalist groups (one in Puerto Rico, some in Africa, the problems in Sri Lanka and a few others.) With time, many of these groups stopped their actions, as they began to either make political strides or they lost. If today, you could remove all the violence that involves Islam, the world would be a much quieter place than it has been in centuries.


Up through and into the 90s, The IRA and the ETA and the Tamil group continued to be active, but it was easy to see the ramping up of Islamic pan-nationalist groups, and now it's a veritable storm...focused on multiple centers: Israel, of course, Kashmir, the Philippines and non-Islamic Indonesia (including Malaysia and Thailand) and growing centers of trouble in Europe. The ETA and Tamils still kick up some squawking, and there are now militant Hindu groups, but pan-national Islamic groups are now speaking with the loudest voices.

And what they are saying is this:

We are standing up to save the world from unrighteousness.

You who are not of Islam are infidels, and therefore have no inherent right to exist. You really only have two choices: Convert or die. Even getting out of our way will only buy you some time, for we will not forget what you are. Our destruction of you is an appropriate way to fight the war for holiness.

Israel must be destroyed. All compromise on this issue is evil, and although we might suffer, and our children do without, it is a worthy cause.

We must rule the Umma, for we and we alone are the Righteous.

Those active in these groups are not people you can negotiate with in good faith. The causes of how we got here may not be simple, but the end result is simple and focused: they want all or nothing.

And we have to decide what we are going to let them have: the whole enchilada or martyrdom. At this point, in dealing with these movements, there is no middle way, not because of our unwillingness to compromise, work, help, but because this is the way they want it.

This is our reality. We must deal with it.

Morning News Roundup

Afghanistan



Iran

Iraq


Israel


Jordan

Kashmir Situation



Lebanon

Pakistan

Palestinian Situation

Ruin, despair in Gaza neighborhood after Israeli incursion

Philippines


Sudan

Syria


Terrorism

The New Face of World War (and why it's already a long war)

1968

December 26: Two Palestinian gunmen travel from Beirut to Athens, and attack an El Al jet there, killing one person

1970


* Switzerland - February 21: A bomb explodes in the rear of Swissair Flight 330, causing it to crash near Zürich, Switzerland, killing 38 passengers and all 9 crew members.It was done by Palestinian group PFLP

* Israel - May 8: Avivim school bus massacre by Palestinian PLO members, killing nine children, three adults and crippling 19.

* Jordan - September 6: Coordinated hijacking of four airliners. One hijacking is foiled in midair and two planes are diverted to Jordan’s Dawson Field. Nicaraguan hijacker Sandinista Patrick Arguello was killed and all passengers were freed after negotiated release of captured hijacker Leila Khaled and three PFLP prisoners. The following day a fifth aircraft was also hijacked. See Dawson's Field hijackings, Black September in Jordan.

1972

July 21: Four PLO terrorists hijacked a Sabena airliner carrying 99 passengers and 10 crew members on route from Brussels to Tel Aviv. In a mission entitled Operation Isotope, 16 members of Sayeret Matkal posed as refueling and technical personnel and stormed the plane, killing the terrorists and releasing the passengers.

.
September 5: Black September kidnaps and kills 11 Israeli Olympic athletes and one German policeman in the Munich Massacre.

1973

March 1: Black September takes ten hostages (five of them diplomats) at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Three western diplomats are killed.

1974

April 11: Kiryat Shmona massacre at an apartment building by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members, killing 18 people, 9 of whom were children

May 15: Ma'alot massacre at the Ma'alot High School in Northern Israel by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members: 26 of the hostages were killed, 66 wounded.

September 8: TWA Flight 841: Bomb kills 88 on jetliner.(Abu Nidal suspected)

1975

March 5: In the Savoy Operation PLO gunmen from Lebanon take dozens of hostages at the Tel Aviv Savoy Hotel eventually killing eight hostages and three IDF soldiers, and wounding 11 hostages.

December 1975: Carlos the Jackal and his rebels attack OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria and take over 60 hostages - mostly they were OPEC countries' leaders. On December 22 the hostages and rebels are transported in a DC-9 to Algiers where 30 hostages were freed; the plane was then flown to Tripoli, Libya where more hostages were freed before flying back to Algiers where the remaining hostages were freed and the rebels were granted asylum.

1976

June 26–July 4: Hijacking of Air France Flight 139 by Palestinian PFLP and German Revolutionäre Zellen(Tel Aviv-Paris); Operation Entebbe: 4 hostages, one Sayeret Matkal soldier and 45 Ugandian soldiers killed.

1977

March 9: Three buildings in Washington, DC are seized and over 100 hostages taken. Washington city councilman Marion Barry is shot in the chest during the incident and after a standoff all hostages are released from the District building, B'nai B'rith, and the Islamic Center. (Hanafi Muslims)

October 13: Lufthansa flight LH 181 was kidnapped by a group of four PFLP to Mogadishu it was freed by GSG-9 commando group.

1978

March 11: Coastal Road massacre: Fatah gunmen killed several tourists and hijack a bus near Haifa; 37 Israelis on the bus are killed.

1979

2 November: Sunni militant group of 1, 300 to 1,500 men seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca Saudi Arabia.

November 4: Iran hostage crisis, a 444-day standoff during which student proxies of the new Iranian regime held hostage 66 diplomats and citizens of the United States inside the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

1980

April 30: Iranian Embassy siege: Iraqi agents take over the Iranian Embassy in London, gaining hostages. After a number of days, one hostage was killed by the Iraqis, and the Special Air Service assaulted the building to rescue the remaining hostages. One hostage died during the assault.

July 27: A member of the Abu Nidal Organization carried out a grenade attack on a group of Jews waiting for a bus in Antwerp, Belgium, killing a child and wounding twenty others. Said Al Nasr will be convicted for this act.

October 3: Four congregants were killed and twelve others injured in a bomb attack on the rue Copernic synagogue in Paris, France. Responsibility was claimed by the National European Fascists (FNE), but the police investigation concluded that Palestinian terrorists were involved.

1981

October 6: Assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Islamic Jihad.

October 20: Attack on a synagogue in Antwerp, Belgium, killing three and wounding sixty.

1982

March 29: A bomb on board the Paris-Toulouse train, kills 5 injures 27. Carlos usually assumed to be responsible.

August 9: Rue des Rosiers, Paris gunning and bombing of Goldenberg restaurant : 6 killed 22 wounded - Fatah - the Revolutionary Council

September 14: Assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Bashir Gemayel and twenty-five others in a car explosion at the Kataeb headquarters.

1983

April 18: U.S. Embassy Bombing in Beirut, Lebanon kills 63.

September 23: Gulf Air Flight 771 is bombed, killing all 117 people on board. (Abu Nidal)

October 23: Marine Barracks Bombing in Beirut kills 241 U.S. Marines. 58 French troops from the multinational force are also killed in a separate attack.

December 31: On the way to New Year's Eve 7 persons are killed and 70 wounded by bombs on the Marseille to Paris TGV and at the St-Charles station in Marseille. The attack is attributed to Carlos on behalf of the O.L.A.

1985

February 23: Paris Marks & Spencer shop, 1 bomb, 1 dead, 18 wounded, attributed to pro-Iranian Lebanese Hizbollah

March 8: Car bomb explodes in Beirut, killing 80, injuring 175; reportedly planned and executed by the United States CIA

March 9: Paris, Cinema Rivoli, 18 injured, pro-Iranian Lebanese Hizbollah

June 14: TWA Flight 847 skyjacking, Hezbollah

October 7 – October 10: Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking by Palestinian Liberation Front, during which passenger Leon Klinghoffer is shot dead.

October 11: Arab anti-discrimination group leader Alex Odeh is killed when a bomb explodes in his Santa Ana, California office.

November 23: EgyptAir Flight 648 hijacked by Abu Nidal group, flown to Malta, where Egyptian commandos storm plane; 60 are killed by gunfire and explosions.

December 7: Paris, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps shops, two bombs, 51 injured, attributed to pro-Iranian Lebanese Hizbollah

December 27: Rome and Vienna Airport Attacks. (Fatah)


1986

February 3: Paris, Claridge passage (Champs Élysées) 7 injured, another bomb failed to explode in the Eiffel tower, pro-Iranian (Fouad Ali Saleh group)

February 4: Paris, Gibert book shop, 7 injured, Fouad Ali Saleh

April 2: TWA Flight 840 bombed on approach to Athens airport; four passengers (all of them American), including an infant, are killed. (connected to Abu Nidal)

April 6: the La Belle discotheque in Berlin, a known hangout for U.S. soldiers, was bombed, killing three and injuring 230 people, for which Libya is held responsible. In retaliation, the US bombs Libya in Operation El Dorado Canyon and tries to kill Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi.

September 5: Pan Am Flight 73, an American civilian airliner, is hijacked; 22 people die when plane is stormed in Karachi, Pakistan.
(Abu Nidal)

December 25: Iraqi Airways Flight 163 is hijacked. The pro-Iranian group "Islamic Jihad" claimed responsibility.

1988

December 21: Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. At the time, it was the worst act of terrorism perpetrated against the United States, and among the worst acts of terrorism in European history, see FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Eventually, Libya admitted that two of its agents carried out the attack.

1989

July 9: Two bombs explode in Mecca, killing one pilgrim and wounding 16 others.

September 19: Suitcase-bomb destroys UTA Flight UT-772 en route to Paris, killing all 171 passengers and crew. Libyan intelligence involved.

1990

PLF attack in the beaches on Tel Aviv
PLO attack on the US. embassy
(I don't have the dates for these events)

1992

March 17: Israeli Embassy bombing by "Islamic Jihad" in Buenos Aires, Argentina; 29 killed, 242 injured.

1993

January 25: Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, fires an AK-47 assault rifle into cars waiting at a stoplight in front of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters. Two CIA employees died.

February 26: World Trade Center bombing kills 6 and injures over 1000 people, by coalition of five groups: Jamaat Al-Fuqra'/Gamaat Islamiya/Hamas/Islamic Jihad/National Islamic Front

June: Failed New York City landmark bomb plot.

1994

March 1: In the Brooklyn Bridge Shooting, Rashid Baz kills a Hasidic seminary student and wounds 4 on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in response to the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.

July 18: Bombing of Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 86 and wounds 300. Generally attributed to Hezbollah acting on behalf of Iran.

July 19: Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901 is bombed, killing 21. Generally attributed to Hezbollah.

July 26: Israeli Embassy Attack in London and a Jewish charity are car-bombed, wounding 20. Attributed by Britain, Argentina, and Israel to Hezbollah.

November 25: Stoning of female competitors in marathon race by ultra conservatives at the behest of clerics begins Islamist uprising in Bahrain.

December 11: A small bomb explodes on board Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing a Japanese businessman. Authorities found out that Ramzi Yousef planted the bomb to test it for his planned terrorist attack.

December 24: Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked by GIA members who planned to crash the plane on Paris but didn't succeed.

1995

January 6: Operation Bojinka plot to bomb 11 U.S. airliners is discovered on a laptop computer in a Manila, Philippines apartment by authorities after an apartment fire occurred in the apartment, by Jemaah Islamiyah/Konsojaya/Abu Sayyaf Group/Ramzi Yousef/Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

June 14—June 19: Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis, 105 civilians and 25 Russian troops were killed.

July—October: Bombings in France by a GIA unit led by Khaled Kelkal kill eight and injure more than 100.

November 13: Bombing of OPM-SANG building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kills 7

November 19: Bombing of Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan kills 19.

1996

January: In Kizlyar, 350 Chechen militants took 3,000 hostages in a hospital. The attempt to free them kills 65 civilians and soldiers.

February 25 - March 4: A series of four suicide bombings in Israel leave 60 dead and 284 wounded within 10 days.

June 25: Khobar Towers bombing -- In all, 19 U.S. servicemen and one Saudi were killed and 372 wounded, by Hizballah Al-Hijaz (Saudi Hizballah) with Iranian support.

1998

January : Wandhama Massacre - 24 Kashmiri Pandits are massacred by Pakistan-backed insurgents in the city of Wandhama in Indian-controlled Kashmir .

February 14: 1998 Coimbatore bombings -Bombings by suspected Islamic Jihadi groups on an election rally in Indian city of Coimbatore kill about 60 people.

February 25: Serial bombing in Coimbatore, a southern Indian city, which kill at least 61 people.

Kenya August 7: U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, killing 225 people and injuring more than 4,000, by al-Qaeda.


1999

January 3: Gunmen open fire on Shi'a Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque, killing 16 people injuring 25.

April 26: An explosion inside an elevator at the Intourist hotel in Moscow injured 11 people.

August 31 – September 22: Russian Apartment Bombings kills about 300 people, leading Russia into Second Chechen War.

December: Jordanian authorities foil a plot to bomb US and Israeli tourists in Jordan and pick up 28 suspects as part of the 2000 millennium attack plots

December 14: Ahmed Ressam is arrested on the United States–Canada border in Port Angeles, Washington; he confessed to planning to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport as part of the 2000 millennium attack plots

December 24: Indian Airlines Flight 814 from Kathmandu, Nepal to Delhi, India is hijacked. One passenger is killed and some hostages are released. After negotiations between the Taliban and the Indian government, the last of the remaining hostages on board Flight 814 are released in exchange for release of 4 terrorists.


2000


The last of the 2000 millennium attack plots fails, as the boat meant to bomb USS The Sullivans sinks
.
May: The Balochistan Liberation Army begins its attacks against government and military targets in Balochistan.

June 8: Stephen Saunders, a British Defense Attaché, was assassinated by Revolutionary Organization 17 November in Athens.

August 8: A bomb exploded at an underpass in Pushkin Square in Moscow, killing 11 people and wounding more than 90.

October 12: USS Cole bombing kills 17 US sailors and wounds 40 off the port coast of Aden, Yemen, by al-Qaeda.

November 22: two Israeli women killed and 60 civilians wounded in a car bomb attack in Hadera.

December 30 Rizal Day Bombings, terrorists blow up LRts in Manila killing 22 and injuring more than 100 people.



2001


February 5: A bomb blast in Moscow's Byelorusskaya metro station injures 15 people.

March 4: 3 elderly Israelis killed in a suicide bombing in downtown Netanya. Hamas claimed responsibility.

March 24: Twenty people die and 93 are injured in three bomb attacks on Russian towns near the border of Chechnya.

March 26: Israeli infant Shalhevet Pass is fatally shot in the head by a Palestinian sniper in Hebron.

April 3: eight people are lightly injureed due to a bomb late at night on Yisod HaMaaleh Street in Hod HaSharon

April 22: a Kfar-Saba doctor of American origin killed by a suicide bomber. 60 people are wounded, Hamas claimed responsibility.

May 18: 5 Israelis killed in a suicide bombing in Netanya. Over 100 are wounded, Hamas claimed responsibility. An Israeli soldier off-duty is killed by gunfire while driving.

June 1: 21 civilians, mostly teenagers from the former Soviet Union, are killed by a Hamas suicide bomber in the Dolphinarium massacre in Tel Aviv, Israel


August 9: A suicide bomber in Jerusalem kills seven and wounds 130 in the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing; Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility.

September 11: The attacks on September 11 killed 2,997 in a series of hijacked airliner crashes into two U.S. landmarks: the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, and The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane, originally intended to hit an unknown, but likely prominent, Washington, D.C. target, crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after an apparent revolt against the hijackers by the plane's passengers; by al-Qaeda

September 11: Paris embassy attack plot foiled.

October 4: 3 people killed when a gunman opens fire in the central bus station in Afula. 13 people are injured, Fatah claimed responsibility.

October 17: Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi is assassinated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

October 28: 4 people killed and 40 wounded when Palestinian policemen attack a crowded bus stop in Hedera. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. An Israeli soldier killed in the Galilee in a drive-by shooting. Tanzim claimed responsibility.

November 27: two Israeli young women killed when the central bus station in Afula is attacked. 50 people are injured. Fatah and the Islamic Jihad claimed joint responsibility. An Israeli settler killed in a grenade attack in Gaza. Hamas claimed responsibility.

December 22: Richard Reid, attempting to destroy American Airlines Flight 63, is subdued by passengers and flight attendants before he could detonate his shoe bomb.



2002


January: Kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl.

March 27: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 30 and injures 140 during Passover festivities in a hotel in Netanya, Israel in the Passover massacre.

March 31: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 15 and injures over 40 in Haifa, Israel, in the Matza restaurant massacre.

April 11: A natural gas truck fitted with explosives is driven into a synagogue in Tunisia by an al-Qaeda member, killing 21 and wounding more than 30 in the Ghriba Synagogue Attack.

May 8: May 8 Bus Attack in Karachi kills 11 Frenchmen and two Pakistanis.

May 9: A bomb explosion in Kaspiisk in Dagestan kills at least 42 people and injures 130 or more during Victory Day festivities.

May 13: 12 people are killed in the Jaunpur train crash in India, caused when Islamic extremists cut the rails.

June 14: Car bomb at US Consulate in Karachi kills 12.

June 18: A Hamas suicide bomber detonates himself on a bus in Jerusalem in the Patt junction massacre. The attack kills 19 people and wounds over 74.

July 4: An Egyptian gunman opens fire at an El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles International Airport, killing 2 Israelis before being killed himself.

September 25: Two terrorists belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed group raid the Akshardham temple complex in Ahmedabad, India killing 30 people and injuring many more.

October: John Allen Muhammed and Lee Boyd Malvo conduct the Beltway Sniper Attacks, killing 10 people in various locations throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area from October 2 until they are arrested on October 24.

October 6: Limburg tanker bombing in Yemen.

October 12: Bali bombing of holidaymakers kills 202 people, mostly Western tourists and local Balinese hospitality staff.

October 17: Zamboanga bombings in the Philippines kill six and wounds about 150.

October 18: A bus bomb in Manila kills three people and wounds 22.

October 19: A car bomb explodes outside a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in Moscow, killing one person and wounding five.

October 23: Moscow theater hostage crisis begins; 120 hostages and 40 terrorists killed in rescue three days later.

November 21: Hamas orchestrates the Jerusalem bus 20 massacre. 11 people are killed and over 50 wounded when a suicide bomber detonates on a crowded bus in central Jerusalem.

December 27: The truck bombing of the Chechen parliament in Grozny kills 83 people.


2003


March 4: Bomb attack in an airport in Davao kills 21.

March 5: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 17 people and wounds 53 when he detonates a bomb hidden under his clothing in the Haifa bus 37 massacre.

March 23: SGT Hasan Akbar, USA, murdered 2 officers and wounded 14 soldiers in a grenade attack at an Army base in Iraq.

May 12: Bombings of United States expatriate housing compounds in Saudi Arabia kill 26 and injure 160 in the Riyadh Compound Bombings. Al-Qaeda blamed.

May 12: A truck bomb attack on a government building in the Chechen town of Znamenskoye kills 59.

May 14: As many as 16 die in a suicide bombing at a religious festival in southeastern Chechnya.

May 16: Casablanca Attacks by 12 bombers on five "Western and Jewish" targets in Casablanca, Morocco leaves 41 dead and over 100 injured. Attack attributed to a Moroccan al-Qaeda-linked group.

July 5: 15 people die and 40 are injured in bomb attacks at a rock festival in Moscow.

August 1: An explosion at the Russian hospital in Mozdok in North Ossetia kills at least 50 people and injures 76.

August 19: Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, kills 22 people (including the top UN representative Sergio Vieira de Mello) and wounds over 100.

August 19: Jerusalem bus 2 massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber detonates himself on a crowded bus carrying mostly Orthodox Jewish Israelis, including many children returning from the Western Wall. 23 people are killed and over 130 wounded.

September 3: A bomb blast on a passenger train near Kislovodsk in southern Russia kills seven people and injures 90.

October 4: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 21 and wounds 51 in a Haifa restaurant in the Maxim restaurant massacre.

October 15: A bomb is detonated by Palestinians against a US diplomatic convoy in the Gaza Strip, killing three Americans.

November 15 and November 20: Truck bombs go off at two synagogues, the British Consulate, and the HSBC Bank in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 57 and wounding 700 in the 2003 Istanbul Bombings.

December 5: Suicide bombers kill at least 46 people in an attack on a train in southern Russia

December 9: A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds at least 11.



2004


January 29: Jerusalem bus 19 massacre: Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades orchestrate a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem, Israel killing 11 people and wounding more than 50.

February 6: Bomb on Moscow Metro kills 41.

February 27: Superferry 14 is bombed in the Philippines by Abu Sayyaf, killing 116.

March 2: Ashoura Massacre: Suicide bombings at Shia holy sites in Iraq kill 181 and wound more than 500 during the Ashura.

March 2: Attack on procession of Shia Muslims in Pakistan kills 43 and wounds 160.

March 9: Attack of Istanbul restaurant in Turkey.

March 11: Coordinated bombing of commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, kills 191 people and injures more than 1,500.

March 24: Israeli soldiers arrest Hussam Abdo, a 15 year-old Palestinian boy with explosives strapped to his chest at the Hawara Checkpoint. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades sent Abdo on a suicide mission to bomb the checkpoint.

April 21: Bombing of a security building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kills five.

May 1: 2004 Yanbu attack kills six Westerners and a Saudi in Saudi Arabia.

May 2: Pregnant Israeli commuter Tali Hatuel and her four young children are gunned down at close range by militants from the Popular Resistance Committees and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

May 29: Al-Khobar massacres, in which Islamic militants kill 22 people at an oil compound in Saudi Arabia.

August 24: Russian aircraft bombings kill 90.

August 31: A blast near a subway station entrance in northern Moscow, caused by a suicide bomber, kills 10 people and injures 33
.
September 1 – 3: Beslan school hostage crisis in North Ossetia, Russia, results in 344 dead.

September 9: Jakarta embassy bombing, in which the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia was bombed, killing eight people.

October 7: Sinai bombings: Three car bombs explode in the Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 34 and wounding 171, many of them Israeli and other foreign tourists.

December 6: Suspected al Qaeda-linked group attacks U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing five local employees.

December 12: A bombing at the Christmas market in General Santos, Philippines, kills 15.


2005
.

February 14: A car bomb kills former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 20 others in Beirut. See also: 2005 Lebanon bombings.

February 25: A suicide bomber in Tel Aviv kills five Israelis and undermines a weeks-old truce between the two sides.

March 19: Car bomb attack on theatre in Doha, Qatar, kills one Briton and wounds 12 others.

April: April 2005 terrorist attacks in Cairo – On April 7 a suicide bomber blows himself up in Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, killing three foreign tourists and wounding 17 others. In two further attacks on April 30, suspected accomplices detonate a bomb and spray a tourist coach with gunfire.

June 1: A suicide bomber blows up in a mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing 20 people.

June 12: Bombs explode in the Iranian cities of Ahvaz and Tehran, leaving 10 dead and 80 wounded days before the Iranian presidential election.

July 7: 7 July 2005 London bombings – Bombs explode on one double-decker bus and three London Underground trains, killing 56 people and injuring over 700, occurring on the first day of the 31st G8 Conference. The attacks are believed by many to be the first suicide bombings in Western Europe.

July 12: Islamic Jihad takes responsibility for a suicide bombing in Netanya, Israel, which kills five people at a shopping mall.

July 21: 21 July 2005 London bombings - Small explosions in three London Underground stations and one double-decker bus. This was pronounced as a "major incident" rather than an attack, and only minor injuries were reported. These 4 bombs were designed to cause as much damage as the 7 July 2005 London bombings, but the explosives had deteriorated and failed to detonate.

July 23: Sharm el-Sheikh bombings – Car bombs explode at tourist sites in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing at least 88 and wounding more than 100.


August 4: Jewish settler in an IDF uniform opens fire on a bus in Shfaram, Israel, killing 4 Israeli Arabs and wounding 5.

August 17: 17 August 2005 Bangladesh bombings: Around 100 homemade bombs explode in 58 different locations in Bangladesh, killing two and wounding 100.

October 1: A series of explosions occurs in resort areas of Jimabaran Beach and Kuta in Bali, Indonesia.

October 13: A large group of Chechen rebels launched coordinated attacks on Russian federal buildings, local police stations, and the airport in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. At least 137 people, including 92 rebels, were killed.

October 15: Two bombs exploded at a shopping mall in Ahvaz, Khuzestan in Iran. Six people died and over 100 were injured.

October 24: Multiple car bombs explode outside the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, killing at least 11. It is thought that the attacks were targeting journalists inside the Palestine Hotel and the Sheraton Ishtar.

October 26: A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a bomb near a falafel stand in Hadera, Israel that kills himself and six others. Twenty-six people were also wounded.

November 9: Three explosions at hotels in Amman, Jordan, leave at least 60 dead and 120 wounded.

December 5: A suicide bomb attack kills at least five people in Netanya in north-western Israel.


2006

* 2006: Palestinian terrorists (Hamas) fire Qassam missiles into Israel, especially the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot, and have injured many citizens and caused civilian damage.

February 21: A car bomb explodes in a south suburban Baghdad marketplace, killing 20 and wounding 25.

February 22: Al Askari Mosque bombing ignites sectarian strife in Iraq.

February 28: An explosion near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, Iraq kills 25 people and wounds 43.

March 2: Bombing in Karachi, Pakistan kills four, including a U.S. diplomat.

March 3: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, an Iranian-born graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, drives an SUV onto a crowded part of campus, injuring nine.

March 7: Two explosions in downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia injure four people.

March 9: A roadside bomb kills six and injures seven in Baghdad, Iraq.

March 30: Palestinian suicide bomber kills himself and four others at Kedumim Junction in the West Bank

April 11: A suicide bomber explodes himself in Karachi, Pakistan kills 57 Sunni worshippers.

April 17: Sami Hammad, a Palestinian suicide bomber, detonates an explosive device in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing eleven people and injuring 70.

April 24: Bombings at three locations in Dahab, Egypt kill 20 Egyptians, 3 foreigners, and injure 62 others.

May 10: A motorcycle bomb explodes at a marketplace in Pattani, Thailand, killing two women and a police officer.

May 11: Six policemen die and 12 are injured when five bombs go off in a police academy in Quetta, Pakistan

June 25: Eliyahu Asheri, an Israeli citizen, was kidnapped and murdered by the Palestinian terrorist group, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).

July 9: 40 Sunni civilians are massacred by Shia militants in Baghdad, Iraq.

July 14: Suicide bomber in Karachi, Pakistan kills a Shiite Islamic cleric Allama Hasan Turabi and his nephew.

July 16: Hezbollah rains rockets down on Northern Israel, reaching Haifa and killing eight Israelis at a train depot there.

July 17: Explosions and gunmen kill 48 people in a market in Mahmoudiya, Iraq

July 18: Car bombing near a Shiite shrine in Kufa, Iraq kills 53 and injures 103.

July 31: Crudely made suitcase bombs were planted in two regional trains to Hamm and Koblenz in Germany that did not explode due a technical fault. Two suspects, young Lebanese men, have been arrested.

August 4: A suicide car bomber struck a market in Kandahar, Afghanistan killing 21 people

August 10: A major anti-terrorist operation disrupts a bomb plot targeting multiple airplanes flying through Heathrow Airport, near London, UK.

August 13: Two grenades explode on a trolleybus in Tiraspol, Moldova, killing two people and injuring ten.

August 16: A bomb explodes in a market in Baghdad, Iraq, killing seven and wounding 18.

August 20: Two suitcase bombs found on trains are suspected of being part of a terrorist plot after originally thought to be part of a blackmail incident

August 20: Gunmen spray bullets on Shiites in Baghdad, killing 20 people and wouding more than 300.


(This list is not exhaustive.)

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Evening News from Swiss Info

Evening News Roundup from Swiss Info

Aug 31, 2006 - 12:08 AM

Israel rejects U.N. appeal Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Luke BakerJERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel rejected a call by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday to lift its air and sea blockade...

Aug 30, 2006 - 7:08 PM

U.S. sees Iraq army fit in 18 months Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Alastair MacdonaldBAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombers killed nearly 50 Iraqis on Wednesday, mostly in Baghdad, but the top U.S. commander said a...

Aug 30, 2006 - 10:08 PM

Iran sanctions to be discussed Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Carol Giacomo and Sue PlemingWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major powers will begin discussing an Iran sanctions resolution at a meeting in...

Aug 30, 2006 - 6:53 PM

Chavez vows solidarity with Syria Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Khaled Yacoub OweisDAMASCUS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged solidarity on Wednesday with Syria in its struggle...

Aug 30, 2006 - 1:53 PM

Iran enriching uranium ahead of U.N. deadline: paper Add story to my swissinfo panel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran has begun enriching a new batch of uranium just days ahead of a U.N. deadline for Tehran to suspend atomic fuel...

Aug 30, 2006 - 11:38 PM

Bush's new campaign to defend Iraq war Add story to my swissinfo panel

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - For the third time in less than a year and two months before crucial U.S. elections, President George W....

Aug 30, 2006 - 11:38 PM

Monitors blame Sri Lanka forces for aid massacre Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Peter AppsCOLOMBO (Reuters) - International ceasefire monitors blamed Sri Lankan troops on Wednesday for the killing of 17 aid workers...

Aug 30, 2006 - 7:37 PM

Bomb in Turkish port city wounds woman Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Emma Ross-ThomasISTANBUL (Reuters) - A homemade bomb wounded a 20-year-old woman in Turkey's Mediterranean port city of Mersin on...

Aug 30, 2006 - 7:37 PM

Hurricane John menaces Mexican resorts Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Chris AspinMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane John grew into a powerful Category 4 storm on Wednesday, threatening Mexican Pacific resorts...

Aug 30, 2006 - 1:53 PM

Iran faces sanction deadline Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Mark HeinrichVIENNA (Reuters) - Iran faces the risk of sanctions after a U.N. nuclear watchdog report on Thursday that is likely to find...

Aug 30, 2006 - 10:08 PM

Tourist seized in Niger says not prisoner Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Nick TattersallDAKAR (Reuters) - An Italian tourist seized by a Saharan rebel group on the border between Niger and Chad told Reuters on...

Aug 30, 2006 - 7:08 PM

Red Cross worker killed in Darfur after abduction Add story to my swissinfo panel

GENEVA (Reuters) - A Sudanese national working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who was abducted in Sudan's Darfur...

Aug 30, 2006 - 6:37 PM

Diminished Ernesto weakens further over Florida Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Tom BrownMIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Ernesto weakened over Florida on Wednesday, coming ashore as a rainstorm instead of a dreaded...

Aug 30, 2006 - 6:07 PM

Militants say behead two men for being U.S. "spies" Add story to my swissinfo panel

WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pro-Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan beheaded two men they accused of being U.S. spies and a boy who had...

Aug 30, 2006 - 4:38 PM

Israel kills 7 Palestinians in Gaza Strip Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Nidal al-MughrabiGAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed three Palestinian gunmen and four civilians on Wednesday, pressing on with an...

Aug 30, 2006 - 4:25 PM

Captor's colleague says he met "happy" Austrian girl Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Karin StroheckerVIENNA (Reuters) - A colleague of the man who held Natascha Kampusch captive for eight years in a cell under his garage...

Aug 30, 2006 - 5:39 PM

Las Vegas ends late-night wedding-licence service Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Alexandria SageLAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Las Vegas bills itself as "the wedding capital of the world", but late-night revellers who decide...

Aug 30, 2006 - 5:39 PM

Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz dies Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Summer SaidCAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz, the only writer in Arabic to win the Nobel Prize for literature, died on...

Aug 30, 2006 - 9:38 AM

Bomb blast kills 24 in Baghdad market Add story to my swissinfo panel

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in a central Baghdad market on Wednesday, killing 24 people and wounding 35, police and Interior...

Aug 30, 2006 - 8:38 AM

China pursuing "diplomacy" with Iran Add story to my swissinfo panel

BEIJING (Reuters) - Iran and oil-famished China agreed on favouring a diplomatic solution to international confrontation over Tehran's...

Aug 30, 2006 - 12:23 PM

Chinese sex slave case dismissed by Japan court Add story to my swissinfo panel

TOKYO (Reuters) - Chinese women who said they were forced to act as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War Two lost their bid for...

Aug 30, 2006 - 10:37 AM

Israel kills 5 Palestinians in Gaza Strip Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Nidal al-MughrabiGAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces killed three Palestinian gunmen and two civilians on Wednesday, pressing on with an...

Aug 30, 2006 - 12:08 AM

Kurdish rebels warn of "hell" Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Thomas GroveANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) - A shadowy Kurdish rebel group threatened on Tuesday to turn Turkey into "hell" after a two-day...

Aug 30, 2006 - 11:53 AM

China foils oilfield and power plant bombings Add story to my swissinfo panel

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have seized explosives and foiled attempts by separatists to blow up oilfields, power plants and highways...

Aug 30, 2006 - 2:23 AM

New Orleans marks Katrina anniversary Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Peter Henderson and Matt DailyNEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans residents marched through their battered city on Tuesday, marking the...

Aug 29, 2006 - 11:09 PM

Polygamist sect leader held in Nevada Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Cathy ScottLAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Fugitive polygamist sect leader Warren Steed Jeffs, one of the FBI's 10 most wanted men, was arrested...

Aug 30, 2006 - 6:54 AM

Bomb kills three at Iraqi army centre Add story to my swissinfo panel

HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - A bomb exploded at an Iraqi army recruitment centre in the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad, on Wednesday, killing at...

Aug 30, 2006 - 8:07 AM

Hurricane John closes in on Mexico Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Chris AspinMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane John grew into a powerful cyclone off Mexico's Pacific Coast on Tuesday, threatening to...

Aug 30, 2006 - 3:23 AM

Storm threat to Florida eases Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Tom BrownMIAMI (Reuters) - The threat Tropical Storm Ernesto posed to Florida diminished on Tuesday as it failed to gain strength over...

Aug 30, 2006 - 3:23 AM

JonBenet killer still unknown Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Dan WhitcombBOULDER, Colo. (Reuters) - Two weeks after the stunning arrest of John Mark Karr for the long-unsolved murder of 6-year-old...

Aug 29, 2006 - 11:53 PM

Vote on U.N. troops for Darfur sought Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Opheera McDoom and Irwin ArieffKHARTOUM/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and Britain plan to push for a vote on a U.N....

Aug 29, 2006 - 11:09 PM

Ahmadinejad challenges Bush to TV debate Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Parisa HafeziTEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday challenged U.S. President George W. Bush to a televised debate...

Aug 30, 2006 - 3:07 AM

Brazil's Lula pledges to help poor in second term Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Ricardo AmaralSAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised more government spending and social programs to...

Aug 30, 2006 - 3:37 AM

Wolves return to eastern Germany Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Erik KirschbaumBERLIN (Reuters) - A century after they were wiped out by hunters and a burgeoning population, wolves have returned to...

Aug 29, 2006 - 9:07 PM

Explosion kills 29 petrol scavengers in Iraq Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Imad al-KhozaieNEAR DIWANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 29 people were killed when a blast ripped through scavengers siphoning petrol...

Aug 30, 2006 - 12:38 AM

Donors urge Somalia power-sharing deal Add story to my swissinfo panel

By Simon JohnsonSTOCKHOLM (Reuters) - International donors urged Somalia's interim government and Islamists on Tuesday to strike a...