In 2015, more than three thousand people became victims of terrorist attacks around the world. IN current year according to our conservative estimates, this figure has already exceeded 1,200 lives. The very word "terrorist attack" has become somehow ordinary and familiar, the reaction to this horror has become dull, has become routine and quickly passing. Almost daily, receiving reports of new terrorist attacks, we are worried, horrified by the number of victims, condolences to relatives - and then we forget. As two well-known politicians noted after the news of the terrorist attack in Nice, one has to commiserate almost every week. Vox Populi today recalls the major terrorist attacks of our time, which together claimed the lives of about 5.5 thousand people.
September 11 attack
The largest terrorist attack in the world occurred on September 11, 2001 in the United States. Its victims were 2,993 people, almost nine thousand people were injured.
On the morning of September 11, 19 terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, two of which were sent to the towers of the World shopping center located in the southern part of Manhattan in New York. As a result of the attacks, the towers collapsed, causing serious damage to the surrounding buildings.
The third plane, hijacked by terrorists, attacked the Pentagon military department in Washington.
The fourth airliner did not reach the target - the passengers and crew of the aircraft tried to take control, and as a result of this the aircraft crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
Al-Qaeda, an international Islamic organization, claimed responsibility for the attack. Its leader was Osama bin Laden, who ten years after the disaster was killed by the US military.
Attacks in Mumbai
A series of terrorist attacks carried out in Mumbai from 26 to 29 November 2008 have been called the worst terrorist attacks in Indian history. This disaster claimed about 170 lives and crippled more than 600 people.
During these days, ten terrorists were committed, according to various sources, about ten attacks in different places in Mumbai, but the terrorists focused on the most famous and largest hotel in the city - the Taj Mahal. First, two invaders, breaking into the hotel, open indiscriminate firing from machine guns in the lobby. At the same time, two terrorists who were previously in the hotel burst into the rooms and shoot the uncomprehending guests, some of them are driven to the first floor. The battle for the hotel and the people in it lasted about 64 hours. Shooting and explosions practically did not subside. As a result of the anti-terrorist operation on November 29, the fourth and last terrorist from those who seized the Taj Mahal was killed.
Responsibility for the attack lies with Lashkare Taiba, one of the largest and most active terrorist organizations in South Asia.
The only surviving terrorist who took part in a series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, an Indian court in 2010 was sentenced to death penalty. Two years later, the terrorist asked for pardon, but the sentence was upheld and soon carried out.
Attacks in Norway
On July 22, 2011, the calm and serene life of Norway was shaken by two terrorist attacks committed by a terrorist Anders Breivik. The 32-year-old Norwegian confessed to both attacks. The tragedy claimed the lives of 77 people, 319 were injured.
On July 22, at about 4 p.m. local time, an explosion occurred in the government quarter of Oslo. A radio-controlled bomb weighing about 500 kilograms was planted in a minivan parked near a government building. From powerful explosion seven people died on the spot, another died from his injuries in the hospital, 209 people were injured.
An hour and a half after the explosion, terrorist Anders Breivik passenger car arrived at the ferry crossing near the island of Utøya, where at that time a traditional youth summer camp ruling Workers' Party. Dressed in the uniform of a police officer, Anders showed a fake ID and announced the need for a safety briefing in connection with the terrorist attack in the capital. Gathering several dozen young people around him, he opened aimed fire at them. For an hour and a half, Breivik shot people, 67 people were killed by him.
The trial of the "Norwegian shooter" took place in 2012. The terrorist was declared sane, guilty of the death of 77 people and sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Explosions in Madrid
On March 11, 2004, a series of terrorist attacks rocked the Spanish capital. With an interval of several minutes, ten planted explosive devices exploded in the vicinity of Madrid. All explosions worked in four suburban trains. The tragedy claimed the lives of 191 people, more than two thousand people were injured.
Responsibility for the bloody catastrophe was claimed by an organization that is part of Al-Qaeda. During the investigation, it was suggested that the date of the terrorist attacks in Madrid was chosen with a symbolic meaning - the explosions took place 911 days (and exactly 2.5 years) after the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 (9/11).
Explosions of residential buildings in Russia
On September 4-16, 1999, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Russia, killing 307 people and injuring more than 1,700 people. Residential buildings were blown up in three cities at once - Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk.
In 2003, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation named customers and executors. The explosions were carried out by Karachai and Dagestan Wahhabis on the order of Arab mercenaries. Amir Khattab And Abu Umar in order to divert the attention of the Russian authorities from the events in Dagestan, where at that time there were battles between federal troops and invading armed groups of militants from Chechnya, who led Shamil Basaev and the Arab mercenary Khattab.
"Nord-Ost" - a terrorist attack on Dubrovka
From 23 to 26 October 2002, a group of armed militants led by Movsar Baraev held hostage the audience of the musical "Nord-Ost". Total number captured amounted to 916 people. Hostages gathered in the hall long time were left without food and water. The invaders demanded the withdrawal of troops from the territory of the Chechen Republic.
On the third day of the seizure of the Theater Center, the besiegers began to pump sleeping gas into the building through the ventilation, after which employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs burst into the theater. As a result of the operation to free the hostages, all the terrorists who were at that time in the building were killed.
According to official figures, the terrorist act claimed the lives of 130 hostages. Moreover, from among the dead hostages, 5 people were shot dead before the assault, the rest died after the release. Speaking of the gas used, chief physician Moscow Andrey Seltsovsky stated that "in pure form from the use of such special means do not die. According to the doctor, exposure to a special gas only aggravated a number of destructive factors that the hostages were exposed to ( stressful situation, physical inactivity, lack of food, etc.)
Terrorist attack in Budyonnovsk
June 14, 1995 195 militants led by Shamil Basaev, attacked Russian city Budennovsk (Stavropol Territory). The terrorists took hostage more than 1,600 residents of the city, who were driven to a local hospital. Those who refused to go were shot on the spot. On the way to the hospital, the bandits killed more than 100 people.
The criminals demanded a cessation of hostilities in Chechnya and the withdrawal federal troops from its territory.
On June 17, early in the morning, Russian special forces made an attempt to storm the hospital, but it was unsuccessful.
After negotiations between the terrorists and the Russian government on June 19, 1995, most of the hostages were released, and the terrorist group was provided with transport to move to Chechnya. The terrorists took 123 hostages with them from among those who agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival in Chechnya, the people were released, and the bandits fled.
As a result of the attack, 129 people were killed, 415 people received gunshot wounds.
Tragedy in Beslan
The tragedy that took place on September 1, 2004 in Beslan is unlikely to ever be erased from our memory.
On the morning of September 1, during the solemn line dedicated to the start of the new school year, the terrorists took hostages. For almost three days, in the mined building of School No. 1, the terrorists held 1,128 hostages in the most difficult conditions - mostly children, their parents and school employees. The hostages were denied even the minimal natural needs.
As a result of the terrorist attack, 333 people died, including 186 children, and more than 800 were injured. To assess the scale of the terrorist attack, it is enough to say that in the four years of the Great Patriotic War Beslan lost 357 men on various fronts.
Almost simultaneously, there was an explosion near the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, visitors to several restaurants were shot and a massacre was tripled in the Bataclan concert hall. The death toll is more than 130 people, about 200 more were injured.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks, calling them "September 11 in French."
Unfortunately, we can go on listing the terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of people for a long time. People who came to admire the fireworks from the beautiful and serene promenade in Nice. Or people lying defenselessly on a Tunisian beach...
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You can become famous not only with the help of politics or show business. Today, television is constantly talking about known terrorists. Their fame is based on blood and murder. The concept of "terror" arose a long time ago. Translated from Latin, this word means fear or horror. Physical violence could frighten their political opponents or the common population.
Terrorism has many forms - collective and individual, religious, nationalist, state and international. The first terrorists operated in Judea in the 1st century. Then members of the Sicarii sect killed those noble Jews who stood up for peace with the Romans. This was regarded as a betrayal of national interests.
In the Middle Ages, the Assassins became famous, who operated on the territory of present-day Iran. These faceless killers exterminated sinners at the behest of their leader. Today, terrorists are no longer faceless, they do not hide, exposing their dark deeds for show. The most famous such criminals will be discussed below.
Herostrat. This is the first person who managed to go down in history not with his creative or political abilities, but with his destructive activity. A Greek from Ephesus in 356 B.C. in his hometown, he burned the temple of Artemis, considered one of the wonders of the world. During the torture, Herostratus admitted that he did it on purpose to perpetuate his name. After the execution, an order was issued to completely forget the name of Herostratus. For this, even the inhabitants of Ephesus hired special heralds who traveled around the country and announced that the name of the ambitious should be forgotten. However, this crime was outlined in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Theopompus. From there, information about Herostratus migrated to the works of later scientists. The story of the burning of the famous temple was invariably accompanied by the name of the criminal. So Herostratus achieved his goal. Legends say that on the night when the Temple of Artemis burned, Alexander the Great was born. A terrorist Herostratus can be considered a stretch, but he showed how you can achieve fame in a criminal way. The phrase "Gerostrat's glory" or "Herostrat's laurels" appeared, which means fame, tantamount to shame.
Boris Savinkov. In the second half of the 19th century, terrorist methods became very popular in Russia - attempts were made on high-ranking officials and even on the tsar. The revolutionary Boris Savinkov supported such methods of fighting the regime. He himself was born into a family of nobles, but all his closest relatives somehow opposed the authorities. For example, the older brother, a Social Democrat, committed suicide in Siberian exile. Savinkov himself was expelled from St. Petersburg University in 1899 for participating in student riots. In 1903, the young revolutionary was only 24 years old, and he already had arrests and exiles behind him. In Geneva, Savinkov joins the Combat Organization of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. Until 1917, he was organizing numerous terrorist acts on the territory of Russia. The most notorious cases were the assassination of the Minister of the Interior Plehve (1904), the Moscow Governor-General Prince Sergei Alexandrovich (1905), the assassination attempt on the Minister of the Interior Durnovo and General Dubasov. After the arrest of terrorist leader Azef, Savinkov leads the Combat Organization. In 1906, while preparing an assassination attempt on the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Chukhnin, a terrorist was caught in Sevastopol and sentenced to death. But Savinkov was able to escape to Romania at night. It was no longer possible to prepare successful terrorist attacks, the Combat Organization disintegrated, and its former leader began to engage in literary activity. After the February Revolution, Savinkov returned to Russia, he became a commissar of the Provisional Government, then an assistant to the Minister of War. The former terrorist did not support the October Revolution of 1917. He tried to fight the new government, then he left for Europe, where he found himself in a political vacuum. As a result, Savinkov illegally returned to Russia, where he was captured by the OGPU and was killed in prison (officially, he committed suicide).
Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez, Carlos Jackal. An international terrorist was born in 1949 in Venezuela. His name was given in honor of Lenin, because his father was also a staunch communist. In 1968-1969, the young fiery revolutionary studied in Moscow and the Peoples' Friendship University. In 1970, Sanchez was given the nickname "Carlos" when he was an intern at a terrorist camp in Palestine. During the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the terrorist showed himself well, and in 1973 he tried to kill the influential Jewish politician and businessman Edward Sheaf in London. In the 70s, Sanchez succeeded in a whole series of terrorist attacks - an attack on a bank, an explosion of French newspapers, attacks on planes and a restaurant. The Jackal's most famous action was the attack on the Vienna headquarters of OPEC and the hostage-taking in 1975. At the same time, the terrorists managed to escape unpunished. In the 80s, Sanchez is credited with a whole series of explosions in France, 11 people were killed, more than 100 were injured. The perpetrator is constantly hiding, now in Hungary, then in Syria, then in Algeria. He began to trade in weapons, moving away from his main activity over time. The terrorist was eventually extradited by the Sudanese authorities in 1994. In France, in 1997, Sanchez was sentenced to life imprisonment, and in 2011 a second similar sentence was passed. Now the terrorist is sitting in Paris prison and writes autobiographical books.
Ulrika Meinhof. This German journalist comes from an intelligent bourgeois family - her ancestors were pastors, and her parents were art historians. In 1955, at the age of 21, a smart girl entered the University of Marburg, where she studied philosophy, pedagogy, and sociology. But the musty atmosphere did not match her active character. In 1957, she transferred to the University of Münster, where she led the student movement against nuclear weapons. In the first half of the 1960s, Meinhof became one of the most famous journalists in Germany, she received large fees. At the same time, she actively participates in the anti-fascist movement, opposes the Vietnam War and the adoption of anti-democratic laws. When left-wing organizations begin to be banned and persecuted in Germany, Ulrika's activities become much more radical. In 1970, the journalist organizes the armed release of the leader of the Red Army Faction (RAF) Andreas Baader. This mission succeeds, albeit at the cost of wounding innocent people. The very same newly appeared terrorist goes underground. Since then, the RAF has been active. The group visited the training camps of the Palestine Liberation Front. The terrorists needed money and upon returning to Germany they began to attack banks. Ulrika Meinhof herself was called the queen of terror. The RAF was credited with 555 terrorist attacks. Among the victims were ordinary people and even associates who wished to retire. In 1972, Ulrike Meinhof was finally arrested. In 1975, she died under strange circumstances in prison. Her funeral turned into a massive protest.
Timothy McVey. Before the advent of Osama bin Laden, he was the biggest terrorist in American history. In his youth, Timothy grew up withdrawn and unsociable. He was more interested in computers, and later firearms, rather than studying and socializing. In 1988, at the age of 20, McVeigh enlisted in the US Army. He took part in the Persian Gulf War and earned awards. McVeigh received special training, studied explosives, sniper tactics. But a career in the army did not work out due to poor physical form McVeigh. In 1992, he was transferred to the reserve. The ex-soldier was a right-wing anarchist who believed gun control was a constraint constitutional freedoms. The actions of the authorities at Ruby Ridge in 1992 and during the siege of the Mount Carmel estate in 1993, when innocent people were killed as a result of the actions of the authorities, caused McVeigh to seek revenge. On April 19, 1995, a terrorist blew up the Alfred Marr Federal Building in Oklahoma City. For these purposes, a car mined with 5 tons of explosives was used. Then 168 people died, including 19 children under 6 years old. Another 680 people were injured. The total damage from the explosion was $652 million. Within an hour and a half after the explosion, McVeigh was arrested for illegal possession firearms. In 1997, a trial took place that sentenced the terrorist to death. In 2001, McVeigh was given a lethal injection. In America itself, legislation was changed that tightened the protection of federal buildings.
Patrick Magee. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is waging a terrorist war against the British. The most famous revolutionary is Patrick Magee. In 1984, he carried out his most famous action. Then the carefully prepared assassination attempt on the English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was practically successful. When the British Conservative Party held its congress in the town of Brighton, Magee managed to plant a bomb in the politician's hotel room. Thatcher narrowly escaped death, as at the time of the explosion she was in the toilet. But 5 innocent people died. Magee himself was nicknamed "The Brighton Bomber" for his attack. The terrorist knew in advance which hotel the distinguished guest would be accommodated in. He booked a room next door under a false name six months in advance. And he was betrayed by an accidentally left signature in the guest book. The court sentenced the Irishman to 8 life sentences. In prison, Magee studied and even passed the exams, receiving a second education. After 15 years, he was released. Magee continues to actively participate in demonstrations against the authorities today.
Shoko Asahara. This man managed to create a whole deadly sect, which, under the guise of a neo-religious organization, began to kill people. Chizuo Matsumoto grew up in a large family. Unable to get into university, he took up the practice of Chinese medicine. Back in 1981, he was arrested for fraud, selling energy-charged drugs. In 1987, Asahara made a pilgrimage to the Himalayas, where, as he claims, he was spiritually cleansed. A little earlier, he founded an organization called Aum Shinrikyo. Since 1989, the sect has become famous in Japan. It attracted many young Japanese students from elite universities. Active cooperation with the Dalai Lama led to his recognition of this organization. The study of Buddhist texts and meditation were only bait. Aum Shinrikyo began to act more actively. The rituals involved the use of drugs, shock therapy. In 1989, the first murder of a member of the sect, who wanted to leave it, took place. In 1990, Asahara tried to run for parliament but failed. The sect began to secretly acquire weapons, including chemical ones. Sarin and VX gas have both been used in the past to assassinate or assassinate critics of Aum Shinrikyo. But on June 27, 1994, the gas was launched against the civilian population. Members of the sect used sarin in the central park of Matsumoto City. Then 7 people died, another 200 were injured. The police were preparing to close the sect, but Asahara managed to carry out another high-profile terrorist attack. On March 20, 1995, there was a gas attack on the Tokyo subway. The victims were 12-27 people, in total, several tens of thousands of people felt the effect of sarin. The trial of Shoko Asahara turned out to be the longest in the history of the country. As a result, he was sentenced to death, but the sentence has not yet been carried out.
Shamil Basaev. Basayev ended up in Moscow after the end of his military service. There he never managed to enter the university and was content with a low-paid job. After the collapse of the GKChP, Basayev returned to Chechnya, felt the field for self-realization. He became a member of an armed group created under the National Congress of the Chechen people. In the summer of 1991, Basayev created the Vedeno armed group, and in October he formed a group of saboteurs. They were supposed to protect the freedom of the Chechen Republic and the interests of the President. On November 9, 1991, in protest against the introduction of a state of emergency, Basayev hijacks a passenger plane from Mineralnye Vody to Turkey. There the invaders surrendered and were sent to Chechnya. Then Basayev was marked by participation in the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. During the First Chechen War, the terrorist gradually moved from active participation to sabotage. On June 14-20, 1995, militants led by Basayev seized a hospital in the city of Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Territory. 1,600 people became hostages, 147 of whom died. Before Second Chechen war Basayev was actively involved in politics. Nevertheless, he continued to organize terrorist attacks on Russian territory. These are the hostage-taking on Dubrovka in 2002 (129 dead), the explosion of a truck near the government house in Grozny (72 victims), a series of suicide bombings in 2003, explosions in the metro in 2004, the seizure of a school in Beslan in 2004 ( 330 dead hostages). In 2006, Basayev was killed by Russian special services while preparing a new terrorist attack.
Osama bin Laden. This man became the largest organizer of terrorist acts in modern history. He also generously sponsored the entire Islamic radical movement. Osama was born in Saudi Arabia and received a good education. He began to participate in the family construction business but the invasion Soviet troops to Afghanistan forced bin Laden to join the Afghan Jihad. Bin Laden's activities against the Soviet troops (hiring volunteers, active fighting) were under the control of American intelligence. In 1989, Osama returned to his homeland, continuing to sponsor the radicals. But the Gulf War and the alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States angered Osama, which led to his deportation to Sudan. In 1996 and 1998, bin Laden issued proclamations directing Muslims to fight the Americans. The result was the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998. The eighth anniversary of the entry of American troops into Saudi Arabia. As a result of the attacks, 290 people died, about 5 thousand were injured. Then Osama bin Laden was added to the list of the most wanted terrorists. After the events of September 11, 2001, the name of Osama became known to the whole world. It was he who was declared the main suspect in a series of major terrorist attacks in America. Bin Laden himself either refused to take part in the attack or confirmed his involvement in it. The United States sent troops into Afghanistan in an effort to destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Bin Laden himself was in hiding for a long time until he was killed by special forces in 2011.
Andres Behring Breivik. The recent terrorist attack shocked everyone, because it turned out that the attack could be carried out in quiet prosperous countries. Norwegian Andres Breivik led an inconspicuous life, but his political activities were active. Since 1997, Breivik has been a member of the youth wing of the Progress Party. In the 2000s, the Norwegian's views became more radical. He positioned himself as a nationalist and hated multicultural politics and Muslims. Breivik gradually came to the conclusion that he could not do anything by political methods, therefore, it was necessary to use weapons. Before committing his attack, Breivik posted a 12-minute video on the Internet and sent out a 1518-page manifesto. There he called on Europeans to return to the policy of isolationism and Christian medieval values. Breivik was able to legally purchase weapons in his native Norway, and components for explosives from a fertilizer seller. On July 22, 2011, an explosion occurred in the government quarter of Oslo. 8 people were killed and 92 more were injured. Nearby buildings were damaged and a fire started. An hour and a half later, Breivik arrived at the ferry crossing near the island of Uteya. There was a summer camp of the ruling Workers' Party. It had over 600 young people. Dressed in a police uniform, Breivik did not arouse suspicion, gathering young social democrats around him, he began to shoot accurately at them. On the island, a terrorist killed another 69 people. After an hour and a half massacre, he surrendered to the authorities without resistance. The law provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of 21 years, the terrorist himself does not intend to challenge the upcoming court decision.
Terrorist acts of the world and their annually growing sad statistics. The most bloody terrorist attacks occurred until recently.
On June 23, 1985, a Boeing 747 passenger airliner operated by Air India was blown up over the Atlantic by terrorists. This attack killed 329 people, and the disaster itself was considered the largest until September 11, 2001.
On October 23, 1983, in the capital of Lebanon, Beirut, Hezbollah fighters carried out a terrorist attack, blowing up two heavily loaded cars with explosives on board. The explosion was carried out near the barracks of French paratroopers and US Marines. As a result, 299 people died.
On June 23, 1985, Sikh extremists detonated an explosive device aboard an Air India Boeing 747 passenger airliner en route from Montreal to London. The charge claimed the lives of 329 people.
On December 21, 1988, a Pan American Boeing 747 crashed over Scotland near the town of Lockerbie. The plane was heading from London to New York and was blown up by a Libyan intelligence agent on board. The attack killed 270 people.
On December 27, 1988, the airports of Vienna and Rome were attacked by the Palestinian Abu Nidal movement. Terrorists from automatic weapons shot passengers who at that moment were buying tickets near the counters of Israeli airlines. There were earlier more than 120 people, 16 died.
On September 19, 1989, a bomb exploded inside a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft of the French airline UTA, which was heading from the Congo to Paris. The attack claimed the lives of 171 people
On March 12, 1993, a chain of terrorist attacks was carried out in the Indian city of Bombay (in our time - Mumbai). A group of terrorists led by Davuud Ibrahim claimed responsibility for the explosions. Terrorists blew up 13 cars filled with explosives near the buildings of the immigration center, post office, stock exchange and several hotels. The explosions resulted in the death of 257 people.
On March 20, 1995, the Japanese sect Aum Shinrekyo carried out a terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway. At 16 stations, members of the sect sprayed the nerve agent Sarin. As a result, 12 people became victims of the incident, more than 3 thousand were injured.
April 19, 1995 in the USA, Oklahoma, inside the federal building. Alfred Murray, the bomb went off. The explosion was carried out by far-right terrorist Timothy McVeigh. In the fire of the blast wave, from glass fragments and under the rubble of the building, 168 people died.
On June 14, 1995, terrorists seized a hospital in the city of Budyonnovsk. A detachment of militants led by Shamil Basayev took more than 2,000 people hostage. For almost six days they were left without food and water. As a result of these events, 143 people died, about 400 were injured.
August 7, 1998 Kenya, Nairobi. Near the US embassy, a heavily loaded transport with explosives was blown up. More than five thousand residents of the city were injured, of which 213 people died. The attack was carried out by the organization of radical Islamists "Islamic army for the liberation of Islamic shrines."
September 4, 1999 Dagestan, Buynaksk. The explosion of a 5-storey residential building, the main residents of which were the families of officers and soldiers of the 136th brigade of the Russian army. Two residential entrances completely collapsed. 64 people were killed, including 23 children. 146 residents were seriously injured. The investigation showed that the attack was financed and organized by one of the leaders of the illegal armed gang Islamic Institute "Kavkaz" Abu Umar and Emir al-Khattab.
On the night of September 8-9, 1999, an explosion destroyed a residential building on Guryanov Street, 19 in Moscow. More than 90 people died under the rubble of the house, and about 200 were injured.
On September 13, a multi-storey residential building on Kashirskoye Highway was blown up in Moscow. It was completely destroyed. The explosion claimed the lives of more than 120 people.
September 16, 1999 Volgodonsk, Rostov region. Demolition of a residential building. During the explosion, 18 people died, including two children, 310 people were injured
September 11, 2001 was the largest terrorist attack in the world.
attacks. Three planes controlled by al-Qaeda militants crashed into the buildings of the World Trade Center in New York City, as well as into the Pentagon building, at short intervals. Another plane crashed in Pennsylvania. The attack was carried out by the international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, led by the famous Osama bin Laden. He claimed responsibility for this tragedy, and also cited the desire to fight for the freedom of his people and the freedom of his nation as the reason for the attack.
The victims of the attack were 2977 people, among them: 2606 people - New Yorkers, 246 crew members and passengers, as well as 125 victims - in the Pentagon building. About 1,600 bodies were identified, and about 1,100 more people could not be identified.
On the night of October 13, 2002 in Indonesia on the island of Bali, suicide bombers set off explosive devices. The location for the explosions was chosen next to a discotheque in the city of Kuta. As a result, almost 190 residents of Kuta were killed, more than 300 were injured. At the same time, bombs were detonated at the US Consulate in Bali and the Philippine Consulate in Manado, one of the administrative centers of the Sulawesi province.
On October 23, 2002, in Moscow, a group of militants led by Chechen commander Movsar Barayev seized the building of the Moscow Theater Center on Dubrovka, where the musical Nord-Ost was being held at that time. More than 900 people became hostages. During the assault, gas was released into the hall where the terrorists and hostages were housed. As a result, according to official figures, 130 hostages died, more than 700 were injured and wounded.
November 20, 2003 Turkey, Istanbul. Terrorists of Al-Qaeda and the Turkish radical Islamist group "Front of the Islamic Mujahideen of the East" carried out five explosions of explosive devices. Explosions claimed the lives of 28 people, another 450 were injured.
On February 6, 2004, Moscow, in a subway train between the Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb. The result was the death of 41 people, about 250 more were injured.
March 11, 2004 in Madrid at the Atoche railway station, there was a terrorist attack, which would later be called the bloodiest in Europe since the end of World War II.
As a result of a series of explosions, 191 people died and 1,800 were injured. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack.
September 1, 2004 a terrible tragedy in North Ossetia. The terrorists seized school number 1 in the city of Beslan. Two days later, as a result of an unforeseen assault on the school premises, 334 people (including 186 children) were killed, more than 800 hostages were injured.
July 7, 2005 England. Three London Underground trains were subjected to a terrorist attack, in which explosive devices were detonated. Another device was blown up on the bus. The victims were 56 people, the number of wounded more than 700. This attack was called the largest in London since the Second World War.
"Attack on Mumbai". From 26 to 29 November 2008. A series of attacks by Islamic terrorists from the Deccan Mujahedin movement on several places at once. One detachment opened fire from machine guns at the Victoria station, two other detachments took hostage the guests of the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the fourth attacked the police station. IN total amount there were seven attacks (a hospital and a Jewish center were also damaged). The result of the attack was the death of 170 people, more than 300 were injured.
September 22, 2013 Kenya, Nairobi. The Westgate shopping center was attacked by a detachment of ten militants from the Al-Shabaab terrorist group. As a result, 67 visitors to the center were killed and another 200 were injured.
On April 2, 2015, members of the radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab broke into the university in the Kenyan city of Garissa and opened fire on students. 147 people became victims of the attack, about 80 more were injured. Most of the dead were Christians. Law enforcement agencies in Kenya managed to kill four attackers, and managed to take another one alive.
On September 11, 2001, in the United States, suicide bombers from the al-Qaeda terrorist organization seized passenger aircraft and crashed into two towers of the World Trade Center (New York) and into the building of the Pentagon - the headquarters of the US Department of Defense (Arlington County, Virginia). The fourth hijacked liner crashed near Shanksville (Pennsylvania). As a result of this largest series of terrorist attacks in the world, 2,996 people were killed and more than 6,000 people were injured. The terrorist attack was organized by al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden.
2. Beslan. Russia. 335 dead
On September 1, 2004, in Beslan (North Ossetia-Alania), militants led by Ruslan Khuchbarov ("Rasul") captured more than 1,100 students of school number 1, their relatives and teachers. On September 2, after negotiations with the ex-president of the Republic of Ingushetia Ruslan Aushev, the bandits released 25 women and children. On September 3, shooting and explosions began at the school, which forced the assault to begin. Most of the hostages were released, 335 people died. Among the dead were 186 children, 17 teachers and school employees, 10 employees of the Russian Federal Security Service, and two employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The militants were destroyed, only one survived - Nurpashi Kulaev (in 2006 he was sentenced to death, commuted to life imprisonment due to a moratorium on the execution of death sentences). Responsibility for the attack was taken by the international terrorist Shamil Basayev (liquidated in 2006).
3. Boeing 747 Air India. 329 dead
On June 23, 1985, an Air India Boeing 747 passenger plane flying on flight AI182 on the route Montreal (Canada) - London - Delhi crashed in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. The cause of the disaster was the explosion of a bomb planted in luggage by Indian Sikh extremists. The crash killed all 329 people on board (307 passengers and 22 crew members). Canadian citizen Inderjit Singh Reyat was sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of participating in the preparation of a terrorist attack in 2003. Prior to that, he served a 10-year prison sentence for preparing an explosion at Narita Airport (Japan), which occurred on the same day as the VT-EFO disaster. Reyat was later charged with perjury and was sentenced in 2011 to 9 years in prison.
4. Boko Haram attack in Nigeria. Over 300 dead
On May 5-6, 2014, as a result of a night attack on the city of Gambora, Borno state, over 300 residents were killed by militants. The survivors fled to neighboring Cameroon. Most of the city was destroyed.
5. The attack on Lockerbie. 270 dead
On December 21, 1988, a Boeing 747 passenger plane of Pan Am (USA), performing regular flight 103 on the route Frankfurt am Main - London - New York - Detroit, crashed in the air over Lockerbie (Scotland). A bomb placed in luggage exploded on board. All 243 passengers and 16 crew members on board, as well as 11 people on the ground, were killed. In 1991, two Libyan citizens were accused of organizing the explosion. In 1999, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi agreed to hand over both suspects to a Dutch court. One of them, Abdelbasset Ali al-Megrahi, was found guilty on January 31, 2001 and sentenced to life imprisonment (released in 2009 due to deadly disease, died in 2012). In 2003, the Libyan authorities admitted responsibility for the attack and paid compensation in overall size 2.7 billion US dollars - 10 million dollars for each dead.
6. Attacks in Bombay. India. 257 dead
On March 12, 1993, in crowded places in Bombay (now Mumbai), 13 explosive devices planted in cars were simultaneously activated. The victims of the terrorist attack were 257 people, more than 700 were injured. The investigation found that the organizers of the explosions were Islamic terrorists. The attack was a response to previous clashes between Muslims and Hindus in the city. One of the organizers, Yakub Memon, was sentenced to death, which was carried out on July 30, 2015. Two of his accomplices are on the wanted list.
7. Aircraft A321 "Kogalymavia". 224 dead
On October 31, 2015, an Airbus A321-231 passenger plane of the Russian airline Metrojet (Kogalymavia), flying flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) to St. Petersburg, crashed 100 km from the city of El Arish in the north Sinai Peninsula. There were 224 people on board - 217 passengers and seven crew members, all of whom died.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that the perpetrators and those involved in the terrorist attack on the plane would be found and punished. "We must do this without a statute of limitations, know them all by name. We will look for them wherever they hide. We will find them anywhere in the world and punish them," Putin assured.
8. Undermining the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. 224 dead
On August 7, 1998, two terrorist attacks simultaneously took place in Nairobi (the capital of Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (the former capital of Tanzania), targeting the US embassies in these countries. Near the embassies, parked trucks filled with explosives exploded. A total of 224 people died, of which 12 were US citizens, the rest were local residents. Al-Qaeda was the organizer of the explosions.
9. Attacks in Mumbai. India. 209 dead
On July 11, 2006, Islamic terrorists detonated explosive devices hidden in pressure cookers planted in the carriages of seven commuter trains in the suburbs of Mumbai (Khar Road, Bandra, Jogeshwari, Mahim, Borivli, Matunga and Mira Road). The attack took place during evening hour peak. 209 people died, more than 700 were injured. At the end of the investigation of the crime, the court sentenced 12 people to various prison terms, 5 of them were sentenced to death.
10.Terrorist act in Bali. Indonesia. 202 dead
On October 12, 2002, a suicide bombing and car bomb attack near nightclubs in the resort town of Kuta (Bali) killed 202 people, 164 of them foreign tourists. 209 people were injured. About 30 people were arrested in connection with the attack. In 2003, an Indonesian court recognized a number of members of the Jamaa Islamiya organization as the organizers of the attack. In 2008, three of them - Abdul Aziz, also known as Imam Samudra, Amrozi bin Nurhasim and Ali (Muklas) Gurfon - were shot by a court. Muklas' brother, Ali Imron, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Al-Qaeda mentioned in the material is included in the Unified Federal List of Organizations Recognized in accordance with the Legislation Russian Federation terrorist. Their activity on the territory of the Russian Federation is prohibited.