Study – Terrorist Attacks

Sr.

Incident

Description

Armed Attack against Vital Installation

1.     

GHQ Attack

The attack began when 10 militants, wearing camouflaged army uniforms and armed with “sophisticated weapons”, attacked a checkpoint at the army base. They arrived in a white van and attacked the compound with guns and hand grenades; at least three explosions were heard during the assault. During the attack, five militants and six soldiers were killed. The Army dead included a Brigadier and a Lieutenant Colonel. The attackers then took 42 hostages, said to include civilians and senior military personnel, to a location near the headquarters. Later successful military action killed others and captured a terrorist.

2.     

Mehran Base Attack

The attack took place on the evening of 22 May at around 20:30 pm (1730 GMT) when a 15-man TTP force stormed the three hangars housing aircraft at the Mehran naval aviation base. The militants had cut the barbed wire at a place on the perimeter fence where they could not be detected by security cameras, and they were wearing black clothes. The militants first attacked the aircraft parked on the tarmac and the equipment in nearby hangars. They used rocket-propelled grenades to damage and destroy several warplanes and premiere anti-submarine and marine surveillance aircraft – the US-made P-3C Orion. Several multi-million dollar aircraft were set ablaze.

According to the Naval Intelligence, the militants entered the naval base from the airfield of the Faisal Air Force Base, near the Mehran Naval Base. The militants then entered nearby buildings and opened fire indiscriminately, killing several naval personnel, and afterwards carried their raid into the heart of the base. According to the intelligence reports, the militants were not Taliban, judging from their abilities and training. But now a video released by Taliban show a Terrorist interview before going for this attack.

Bomb attack against vital installations

3.     

-FIA, Lahore
-Marriot Hotel, Islamabad
-Abu Gharib prisom, Iraq

Also in 2008, Pakistan saw progression in techniques in three major terrorist attacks which targeted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) building in Lahore and the Danish embassy and Marriott hotel in Islamabad. In the FIA attack, terrorists used a pickup truck loaded with over 50kg of C4 plastic explosives, in a tactic that was strikingly similar to the April 2005 botched attack on Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison by Al Qaeda, with the aim of freeing detainees and targeting US forces in a series of car bombings. The method adopted in the devastating Marriott suicide bombing showed their enhanced capabilities and the ability to strike at will the most protected parts of the country.

Bomb Attack against Vital Personality/Personalities

4.     

Rabbani Assasination

Rabbani was killed in a suicide bombing at his home in Kabul on September 20, 2011. Two men posing as Taliban representatives approached him to offer a hug and detonated their explosives. At least one of them had hidden the explosives in his turban. The suicide bomber claimed to be a Taliban commander and said he wanted to “discuss peace” with Rabbani.

5.     

Ahmed Shah Massoud

Massoud, then aged 48, was the target of a suicide attack at Khwaja Bahauddin, in Takhar Province in northeastern Afghanistan on September 9, 2001. The attackers’ names were alternately given as Dahmane Abd al-Sattar, husband of Malika El Aroud, and Bouraoui el-Ouaer; or 34-year-old Karim Touzani and 26-year-old Kacem Bakkali. The attackers claimed to be Belgians originally from Morocco. However, their passports turned out to be stolen and their nationality was later determined to be Tunisian. Waiting for almost three weeks (during which they also interviewed Burhanuddin Rabbani and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf) for an interview opportunity, on September 8, 2001, an aide to Massoud recalls the would-be suicide attackers “were so worried” and threatened to leave if the interview did not happen in the next 24 hours (until September 10, 2001). They were finally granted an interview. During the interview they set off a bomb that was composed of explosives hidden in the camera and in a battery pack belt.

Attack on group of personalities

6.     

Sri lankan Team Attack

The Sri Lankan cricket team attack occurred on March 3, 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen, near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second Test against the Pakistani cricket team. Six members of the Sri Lanka national cricket team were injured. Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed. These were the first attacks on a national sports team since the Munich massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian militants in 1972.

7.     

Munich Attack 1972

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, 11 members of the Israeli team were taken hostage and killed by members of Black September, a Palestinian militant group linked to Yasser Arafat’s PLO. The group – eight men in tracksuits and with duffel bags and AK-47 assault rifles – scaled a two-metre fence in the early hours of 5 September to gain access to the Olympic village apartment block that housed male members of the Israeli team, shooting two dead. Nine other members of the team were taken hostage; in return for their release, Black September demanded the release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and safe passage to Egypt.

Armed Attack on single personality

8.     

Corps Commander Karachi Attack

On 10 June 2004, Corps Commander Lt Gen Ahsan Saleem Hayat left his Bath Island residence for Corps House at about 8:40am and unidentified people ambushed the convoy when it neared Clifton Bridge at about 8:45am. Witnesses said seven to eight gunmen in a 16-seater Toyota Hiace van ambushed the motorcade with automatic weapons. Later, a bomb disposal squad reached the scene, discovered a bomb attached to one of Clifton Bridge’s pylons and defused it.

9.     

President Musharraf Attack

On 14 December 2003, Musharraf survived an assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. It was the third such attempt during his four-year rule. On 25 December 2003, two suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill him; 16 others died instead. Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windshield on his car.

Attack on general public

10. 

Mumbai Attack

Police believe 12 terrorists were responsible for the massacre in co-ordinated shootings and blasts at 10 different locations which has claimed 101 lives so far. Intelligence suggests the gunmen used a fishing boat to travel to the city by sea from Gujarat to avoid security patrols and checkpoints. They then switched boats and used an inflatable dinghy to get into the heart of Mumbai before splitting up and beginning their massacre. Five terrorists armed with AK-47 rifles barge into the Leopold Café , which is popular with tourists, and start firing at diners and throwing grenades. Two men on a scooter throw a grenade at a petrol station close to the Bootleggers pub in Nariman House, Colaba, a nightspot popular with backpackers, damaging the facade but missing the pumps. They then run into a business and residential complex, apparently killing two people and taking a number of hostages, thought to include a rabbi and his family. Gunmen start shooting at the ticket reservation counter of the CST Railway Station  station. A number of people are believed to have been killed and dozens wounded in this attack. The terrorists then ran out of the station. Armed men walk into the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel hotel through the service entrance and start firing and throwing grenades. They were reportedly looking for British and American nationals and took up to 100 hostages. Five minutes after the drama began at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, the same scenario was played out at another of the city’s most expensive hotel, Oberoi Trident. A taxi is blown up in a Vile Parle  suburb of the city further north than the rest of the attacks. Terrorists in a hijacked Skoda drew up at Cama Hospital  hospital in the south of the city and began firing randomly outside and inside the hospital. Five people are thought to have been killed, including a police inspector, two police constables and two security men. Gunmen opened fire at two policemen near the Metro Cinema  cinema, before hijacking a police vehicle. At Wadi Bunder, another taxi was blown up and at least three people killed, including the driver of the taxi. About 15 other people are reported injured. In Girgaum,  two terrorists open fire after being confronted by police. Both gunmen were killed and police discovered two rib-type boats filled with explosives.

The Mumbai attacks were another defining moment, when a new technique of urban guerrilla warfare proved brutally effective in the hands of terrorists, who have since developed such tactics further, adding elements of suicide bombing to it and striking in Pakistan and Afghanistan more than a dozen times. Terrorists imitated the Mumbai attacks in four major assaults in Pakistan in 2009: an attack on GHQ in Rawalpindi, an assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore and two attacks on a police training school in the same city. Afghanistan suffered a similar attack in Kabul in February 2010 when terrorists targeted a shopping centre, a guesthouse and a hotel.

11. 

Attack to Terrorize specific Area

One tactic has been to target a particular city through repeated strikes with a view to terrorising the population and enhancing the impact of attacks beyond just physical damage. In 2009, terrorists repeatedly targeted Peshawar in that manner and in 2010 they focused on Lahore. In 2011, Karachi seems to be high on the terrorists’ list. In Afghanistan, initially Kandahar was a magnet for such sustained attacks and now it is Kabul.

12. 

Attack to Terrorize Society

The violence worsened immediately after September 11 and the expulsion of the Taliban from Afghanistan. In 2002, 12 Shia Hazara police cadets were gun downed in Quetta. In 2003, the main Shia Friday Mosque was attacked in Quetta, killing 53 worshippers. March 2, 2004, at least 42 persons were killed and more than 100 wounded when a procession of the Shia Muslims was attacked by rival Sunni extremists at Liaquat Bazaar in Quetta. Separately, on October 7, 2004, a car bomb killed 40 members of an extremist Sunni organization in Multan. 300 people died during 2006. On December 28, 2009, as many as 40 Shias were killed in an apparent suicide bombing in Karachi. The bomber attacked a Shia procession which was held to mark Ashoura. Since June 2010 in Karachi, Sipah-e-Sahaba is involved in the target killing of seven innocent bystanders and intellectuals; all were from the Twelver Shia Muslim community. Sectarian riots as well as target killing of doctors in the provincial capital have been sending alarm bells to the present democratic system. In early September 2010, three separate attacks were reported in different parts of Pakistan. The first one took place on September 1 in Lahore where at least 35 Shias were killed and 160 unknown people injured during a procession. The third attack also occurred on September 3 but in the city of Quetta which killed around 56 people during another procession calling for solidarity with Palestinians.

The May 2010 Lahore attacks occurred on 28 May 2010 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, during Friday prayers. 86 people were killed and more than 120 were injured in nearly simultaneous attacks against two places of worship of the minority Ahmadiyya Community. After the initial attack, a hostage situation lasted for hours. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, as well as their Punjab wing, claimed responsibility for the attacks and were also blamed by the Pakistani Police.

Kidnapping

13. 

Shehbaz Taseer

Two cars and a motorbike were used to kidnap the son of former governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer from Lahore’s Gulberg area while he was on his way to office on Friday 26 August 2011 soon after the kidnapping of an American official, Warren Weinstein, from the city. Most likely, Shahbaz has been picked up by the Taliban through their affiliates such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi which last February kidnapped the son-in-law of the former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid.

14. 

Prof Ajmal Khan

Prof Ajmal Khan, the vice-chancellor of the Islamia College University (ICU) and relative of ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, was kidnapped along with driver while on way to his office. It was learnt that he was being driven in his official car A-9450 by his driver Mohibullah at around 9:20 am when they were intercepted by three gunmen riding a white 1986 model car in the Professors’ Colony just outside the University of Peshawar Campus.
According to eyewitnesses, the vice-chancellor after sensing the intention of the armed men came out of the car and rushed back towards his house. However, three other men blocked his way and dragged him towards his car before driving away towards the tribal area of Khyber Agency.

15. 

Amir Malik, Son in Law of CJCSC

A case No 692/10 has been registered against kidnappers under section 365 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), on the complaint of Naseem Malik, brother-in-law of Amir Malik, at Faisal Town police station. The complainant told police that victim Amir Malik, the son of Aftab Malik, a resident of 26/L, Model Town EXT, reached his house by a car 932167/LXD at around 8:25 p.m on Wednesday. As the main gate of the house was opened by driver Muhammad Arshad, son of Ramazan, some 12 people in a Honda City (silver color) PUK-8192 and on two motorcycles approached him. They pushed the driver and Amir into the car and sped away. However, the driver was dropped at some unknown location.

Method

Detail

1.     

Bombing

Bombings are the most common type of terrorist act. on August 7, 1998, two American embassies in Africa were bombed. The bombings claimed the lives of over 200 people, including 12 innocent American citizens, and injured over 5,000 civilians. Terrorists can also use materials that are readily available to the average consumer to construct a bomb.

2.     

Kidnappings and Hostage-Takings

Terrorists use kidnapping and hostage-taking to establish a bargaining position and to elicit publicity. It is overt and designed to attract and hold media attention.

3.     

Armed Attacks and Assassinations

Armed attacks include raids and ambushes. Assassinations are the killing of a selected victim,usually by bombings or small arms. Historically, terrorists have assassinated specific individuals for psychological effect.

4.     

Arsons and Firebombings

Incendiary devices are cheap and easy to hide. Arson and firebombings are easily conducted by terrorist groups that may not be as well-organized, equipped, or trained as a major terrorist organization. An arson or firebombing against a utility, hotel, government building, or industrial center portrays an image that the ruling government is incapable of maintaining order.

5.     

Hijackings and Skyjackings

Hijacking is the seizure by force of a surface vehicle, its passengers, and/or its cargo. Skyjacking is the taking of an aircraft, which creates a mobile, hostage barricade situation.

6.     

NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) Attack

Historically, terrorist attacks using nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons have been rare. Due the extremely high number of casualties that NBC weapons produce, they are also referred to as weapons of mass destruction (WMD). However, the increased development of WMD also increases the potential for terrorist groups to gain access to WMD.

7.     

Cyber Terrorism

Cyberterrorism is a new form of terrorism that is everincreasing as we rely on computer networks to relay information and provide connectivity to today’s modern and fast-paced world. Cyberterrorism allows terrorists to conduct their operations with little or no risk to themselves.

8.     

Robberies & Punishment of own public

In addition to the acts of violence discussed above, there are also numerous other types of violence that can exist under the framework of terrorism. Terrorist groups conduct damage against their own people as a form of punishment for security violations, defections, or informing. Terrorist organizations also conduct robberies and extortion when they need to finance their acts and they don’t have sponsorship from sympathetic nations.