This is a list of Muslim terror attacks inside the United States, and against U.S. assets and people abroad, from 1973 to the present. Not included are terrorist acts inside Iraq as related to the Iraq War.List format: date, (#injured, #killed), organization, incident summary+ March 6, 1973, (0,0), PLO, "An elaborate network of explosives was found in the trunks of cars parked outside of the El Al Israel Airlines air terminal at Kennedy Airport, the First Israel Bank and Trust Company, and the Israel Discount Bank, in New York."
+ March 6, 1973, (0, 1), PLO, "Colonel Yosef Alon, Israeli miliary attache in Washington, D.C., was shot to death outside of his home. Arab terrorists were believed to be responsible. A Voice of Palestine radio broadcast said that Alon had been executed in retaliation for the assassination of Mohammed Boudia in Paris."
+ Dec. 29, 1975, (75, 11), PLO, "A bomb exploded in a baggage locker in a Delta, Eastern and TWA claims area of New York City's La Guardia Airport, killing eleven and injuring seventy five. Damage was estimated at $750,000. A caller said a commando attack squad of the PLO had carried the armed struggle into the U.S. and threatened more attacks."
+ Jan. 1, 1976, (0, 0), unknown, "Arab terrorists were blamed in a newspaper account for mailing a vial of nerve gas to the United States. U.S. Army experts disarmed the device.:
+ Jan. 14, 1976, (5, 0), "A bomb exploded in the men's restroom adjacent to the Iranian Consulate in San Francisco. The blast caused property damage and several people were injured. The Red Guerrilla Family claimed responsibility, saying the blast was to 'support the Iranian people's struggle to rid themselves of the CIA-backed shah'..."
+ Nov. 4, 1979, (0,0), 500 Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 90 hostages. Of the 90, 38 were quickly released, while 52 Americans were held. "On Jan. 20, 1981, the day of President Reagan's inauguration, the United States released almost $8 billion in Iranian assets and the hostages were freed after 444 days in Iranian detention; the agreement gave Iran immunity from lawsuits arising from the incident."
+ April 18, 1983, (100, 60), Beirut, Lebanon, Hezbollah, "A powerful bomb shattered the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing at least 57 people (17 of them Americans) and wounding at least 100. A car filled with 200-500 pounds of dynamite rammed the front of the embassy, resulting in the blast, killing the driver as well. The Islamic Jihad Organization (Islamic Holy War), a pro-Iranian group, immediately claimed responsibility; however, two other groups also claimed responsibility for the blast."
More
here.
+ Oct. 23, 1983, (81, 241), Beirut, Lebanon, Hezbollah, "The buildings housing the U.S. Marines' peacekeeping force in Beirut was destroyed by a suicide-mission car full of explosives. Most of the dead had been asleep in their bunks when the 6:20a.m. explosion occurred. U.S. officials have said privately that the bombing was the work of a militant, pro-Iranian Shiite Moslem group known as Hezbollah, the Party of God, a breakaway group from the main Shiite Amal, with headquarters in a Syrian-controlled part of Lebanon."
It can be argued that this was not a terrorist attack, as it was a military target.
More
here.
+ April 5, 1984, (0, 0), Red Guerilla Resistance, "Two bombs caused extensive damage to the Manhattan office of Israeli Aircraft Industries. "Red Guerrilla Resistance" claimed responsibility for the blasts which went off in the early morning hours, blowing two steel doors off their hinges, shattering windows and twisting partitions." And, "About five minutes after the blast, a caller to UPI played a tape which said, 'This is the Red Guerrilla Resistance. This country will no longer be a safe haven for Israeli warmongers. Victory to the PLO, death to Zionism and Imperialism.' The attack bore no resemblance to any other recent bombings in New York."
+ The April 5, 1986, (230, 3), Libya state-sanctioned terror, with assistance from two Palestinians, "Berlin discotheque bombing was a terrorist attack on the West Berlin La Belle discotheque that was frequented by U.S. soldiers. A bomb placed under a table near the DJ booth exploded at the club, killing a Turkish woman and two U.S. servicemen and injuring 230 people, including more than 50 American servicemen. Nermin Hannay and U.S. Sgt Kenneth T. Ford died instantly. Sgt James E. Goins died two months later. Of the injured victims, some were permanently disabled."
+ Oct. 23, 1987, (0, 0), Syrian Socialist National Party, "Three Lebanese-born Canadians were arrested when they tried to cross into the United States from Canada and a search of their car turned up a crude bomb. On June 22, 1988, the three, who the U.S. government contends are affiliated with the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) a pro-Syrian Lebanese group, were convicted of smuggling charges."
+ Sept. 14, 1988, (0, 0), "A Lebanese gunman armed with an AK-47 Soviet assault rifle held nine military personnel and two civilians hostage at a military recruiting center in Richmond, Virginia for five hours."
+ Nov. 27, 1988, (1, 0), "A leading opponent of the North Yemen government escaped injury when shots were fired at a group he was with while entering a restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan."
+ Feb. 28, 1989, (0, 0), "Two Berkeley, California bookstores and a New York newspaper office were the targets of firebombs related to the international Salman Rushdie affair. The Riverdale Press in the Bronx had recently published an editorial which supported Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses."
+ Nov. 5, 1990, (0, 1), "The founder of the Jewish Defense League (JDL), Rabbi Meir Kahane (Israeli), was assassinated in New York City by a U.S. national of Egyptian descent." It should be noted that the JDL committed many acts of terrorism on U.S. soil in the 1970s.
+ Jan. 25, 1993, (3, 2), "A gunman approached cars at the entrance of the CIA Virginia headquarters shortly before 8AM and randomly fired into several cars with an AK-47 rifle. Two CIA employees were killed and three others were wounded in the attack. The gunman escaped in a nearby car. The suspect in the shooting is 28-year-old Pakistani national Mir Amal Kansi of Reston, VA."
+ Feb. 26, 1993, (1042, 6), Liberation Army Fifth Battalion, "The World Trade Center in Manhattan suffered a bomb explosion in the parking garage that killed 6 and injured 1042. The noon-time blast caused serious damage as well. Six days after the bombing, police arrested Mohammed Salameh as he was trying to get the deposit back for the van he rented to use as a car bomb. He is a member of the mosque in Jersey City led by Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman, a radical Egyptian cleric. Also arrested was Ibrahim Elgabrowny, a cousin of El Sayyid Nosair, Kahane's assassin; Nidal Ayyad; Mahmud Abouhalima, probably the mastermind; Bilal Alkaisi; Ramzi Ahmed Yousef; and Mohammed Ahmed Ajaj. A group calling itself the Liberation Army Fifth Battalion claimed responsibility for the bombing in a letter sent to the New York Times. They call for an end to US relations with Israel and an end to US interfering in Middle Eastern affairs. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, accused of being the mastermind behind the bombing, was arrested in Pakistan and brought back to the US."
+ March 1, 1994, (3, 1), "A Lebanese immigrant, Rashid Baz, opened fire on a van crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, wounding four Hasidic Lubavitch rabbinical students (one of whom died four days later). The assailant was indicted for the shootings along with a Jordanian man, who owned a taxi company that employed him."
+ 1995, (60, 5), "al Qaeda detonated a 220-pound car bomb outside the Office of Program Manager in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing five Americans and wounding 60 more. The FBI was sent in."
The list proves that people who call the War on Terror "Bush's war on terror", or deny the war entirely, have denied reality in favor of attacking Bush for political reasons.+ 1996, (0, 15), "al Qaeda bombed the barracks of American pilots patrolling the "no-fly zones" over Iraq, killing 19. Again, the FBI responded."
+ Jan. 2, 1997, (0, 0), "Four letter bombs were found at the Washington, DC offices of Al-Hayat, a London-based Saudi Arabian newspaper. The plastic explosive bombs were sent inside musical Christmas cards and were postmarked from Egypt."
+ Jan. 2, 1997, (0, 0), "Two letter bombs, also sent inside musical Christmas cards, were sent to the Federal Prison at Leavenworth. Kansas. They were addressed to "Parole Officer" and postmarked from Egypt. One of the World Trade Center (1993) bombers is an inmate at Leavenworth."
+ Jan. 3, 1997, (0, 0), "A third letter bomb addressed to Leavenworth Prison was found at the post office. Two others had previously been delivered to the prison. It was similar to the others as well as to the five sent to the Al-Hayat newspaper's office in Washington, DC."
+ Jan 13, 1997, (0, 0), "Four letter bombs, addressed to the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Hayat, were discovered and safely defused at the UN where the paper has offices. They were similar to all the others that have been sent to Al-Hayat's offices in Washington and London."
+ Feb. 13, 1997, (0, 0), "A Jewish man (Harry Shapiro) of Jacksonville, Florida placed a pipe bomb at a synagogue to disrupt the speech of former Israeli PM (Peres). The bomb did not explode; instead, it was found by 3 children and passed over to the police on 22 February. The charged man affiliated himself with the American fringe of Islamic Jihad."
+ Feb. 23, 1997, (4, 2), "A Palestinian opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in NYC. He killed a Danish tourist and wounded an American, Argentinian, a Swiss and French tourist. He then shot himself. He claimed that the attack was to punish 'enemies of Palestine'."
It seems only Western media believed the family's story that the shooting was not politically motivated. In February 2007, the family has
set the record straight: "Ali Abu Kamal's relatives say they are tired of lying about why the Palestinian opened fire on the observation deck of Empire State Building, killing a tourist and injuring six other people before committing suicide."
More
here.
+ Aug. 7, 1998, (5000, 258), al-Qaeda, "On Aug. 7, 1998, the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were bombed by terrorists, leaving 258 people dead and more than 5,000 injured."
+ Oct. 12, 2000, (39, 17), al-Qaeda, "The USS Cole bombing was a suicide bombing attack against the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored in the Yemeni port of Aden."
It can be argued that this was not a terrorist attack, as it was a military target.
Nov. 4, 2000:George W. Bush elected President of the United States
Jan. 20, 2001: George W. Bush sworn in as President of the United States
+ January 2000, (0, 0), "al Qaeda tried and failed to attack the U.S.S. The Sullivans off Yemen. (Their boat sank before they could reach their target.)"
+ Sept. 11, 2001, (2261, 2749), al-Qaeda, "Hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston bound for Los Angeles, CA crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Fifteen minutes later, hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston bound for Los Angeles, CA crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center. Both towers collapsed, causing around 2,823 casualties and hundreds of injuries. The terrorists were said to have used small knives and box cutters to overtake the planes. Al Qaeda is responsible for this and three other hijacked planes on this day that caused over 3,000 total deaths."
+ July 4, 2002, (3, 3), "Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian-born man, opened fired at the El Al Israeli Airlines ticket counter at the Los Angeles Airport (LAX), killing two people and wounding three others."
+ May 5, 2005, (0, 0), "Two 'unsophisticated' grenades exploded outside a building that houses the British consulate in New York City. The devices were made of two plastic grenades packed with gunpowder and lit by hand. Both detonated, causing the windows of the building to shatter and a large chunk of concrete to blow out of the flower box where the devices were planted."
+ March 6, 2006, (9, 0), Sudden Jihad Syndrome, "...a just-graduated student named Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, and an Iranian immigrant, drove a sport utility vehicle into a crowded pedestrian zone. He struck nine people but, fortunately, none were severely injured." ... "Mr. Taheri-azar represents the ultimate Islamist nightmare: a seemingly well-adjusted Muslim whose religion inspires him, out of the blue, to murder non-Muslims."
+ July 28, 2006, (5, 1), Sudden Jihad Syndrome, "A Muslim man angry with Israel barged into the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Friday afternoon and opened fire with a handgun, killing one woman and wounding five others before surrendering to police."
+ Feb. 18, 2007, (0, 3), Honor killing in Chicago: "An enraged Iranian immigrant used a 3-pound hammer to beat his wife, sister-in-law and mother-in-law to death and then stabbed them repeatedly because he felt 'disrespected,' police said Monday."
+ Feb. 18, 2007, (1, 0), Sudden Jihad Syndrome. After an argument with a Jewish customer in Tennessee, a Muslim cab driver named Ibrahim Ahmed ran the man down with his minivan. Prior to the attemted murder, the cabbie had praised Hitler for "trying to rid the world of Jews."
Note about sources:
The
Terrorism Knowledge Base (TKB) was used for most entries. The list includes terror attacks committed by Muslims, on U.S. soil, from 1973 to the present, plus international attacks against U.S. assets and people
that I recalled from memory. TKB doesn't have a search method for U.S. targets internationally. The list is, therefore, probably incomplete.
It should be noted that during the 1970s and 1980s, non-Musims, including members of the Jewish Defense League, committed many terrorist attacks in the U.S.
It should also be noted that attacks againt military targets, incidents of Sudden Jihad Syndrome, as well as honor killings, may not be terrorism. They aren't necessarily perpetrated to affect social or political change, which is a widely accepted definition of "terrorism".
