TERRORISM REVIEW

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005329267
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 47
• Document Creation Date: June 24, 2015
• Document Release Date: August 1, 2011
• Case Number: F-2008-00992
• Publication Date: April 1, 1998

 National Security
Unauthorized Disclosure
Information
Subject to Criminal Sanctions
.......... ........ ..... ....
... ........... .....
Dissemination Control
NOFORN (NF)
Not releasable to foreign nationals
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Abbreviations
PROPIN (PR)
Caution-proprietary information involved
ORCON (oc)
Dissemination and extraction of information
controlled by originator
 Terrorism Review
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 Highlights 23
 Key Dates and Incidents The Terrorism Diary for May and June 19981
33
Summary of Indigenous Terrorism-March 19981
39
This review is published monthly by the DCI Counterterrorist
Center Comments and aueries are welcome and ma y he directed to
Information available as of 21 April 1998 was used in this Review.
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 The Terrorism Diary for May and June 1998
Below is a compendium of May and .tune dates of known or conceivable signifi-
cance tv terrorists around the world. Inclusion of a date or event does not suggest
that we expect or anticipate a commemorative terrorist event. ~~
I May Socialist World. May Day, to commemorate labor violence in Chicago.
I May 1980 Peru. Destruction of electoral material in Chuschi, Canga[lo Province, marks
beginning of armed struggle by Sendero Luminoso; anniversary is marked by acts
of violence throughout May, but especially on 16 May.
2 May 1953 Jordan. King Husayn assumed constitutional power-
4 May 1980 Yugoslavia. Death of Josip Broz Tito.
5 May 1981 United Kingdo~rt. Death of IRA member $obby Sands, after hunger strike.
6May 1900 Iran. Birthday of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
10 May Sri Lanka. Poya Day.
10 May 1998 Paraguay. General elections scheduled.
II May 1998 Philippines. National elections scheduled.
l4 May 1948 Middle East. Beginning of first Arab-Israeli war.
Israel. Independence Day (according to Gregorian calendar, date on which Israel
declared independence; the Hebrew calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in
April or May)
IS May 1948 Palestinians. Palestine Day (end of UN mandate); 15 May Organization, founded
in 1979 by remnant of Special Operations Group of Popular Front for the Libera-
tion of Palestine (PEEP), takes its name frog this event.
IS May 1988 Abu Nidal organization killed eight persons at Acropole Hotel in Khartoum.
17 May 1983 Lebanon, Israel. Signing of troop withdrawal accord known as 17 May agreement.
21 May 1996 Algeria. Seven kidnapped French monks beheaded by the Aimed Islamic Group
(GIA).
21 May Sri Lanka. Poya Day.
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 22 May 1972 Sri Lanka. Republic Day
28 May 1964 Colombia. Anniversary of the founding of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC).
30 May 1972 Israel. Tel Aviv Lod Aiport massacre by the 7apanese Red Army.
31 May 1998 .Colombia. Presidential elections scheduled.
I June 1976 Palestinians. Palestinian renegade Abu Nidal renamed his terrorist group-then
based in Iraq-the Black June Organization and began attacking Syrian targets in
response to Syria's backing of the Christian Phalange in Lebanon.
3 June 1989 Iran. Death of Ayatollah Khomeini.
4 June 1982 Israel, Lebanon. First Israeli bombing of Beirut.
S June 1963 Iran. 1Vational Day of Mourning; Revolution Day; Day of Uprising, to commemo-
rate the arrest of Ayatollah Khomeini by police under the Shah.
5 June 1967 Middle East. Beginning of the Six-Day War,
6 June 1982 Israel, Lebanon. Israeli forces invade Lebanon.
6 June 1984 India. Army storms the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar.
8 June 1967 Palestinians. Founding of Palestinian terrorist group Sa`iga, .a.k.a. Thunderbol.
9 June 1984 Peru. Launching of guerrilla action by MRTA; the takeover of a radio station in
Lima.
IS June 1953 Egypt. Evacuation Day, which is the anniversary of the proclamation of the
republic.
25 June 1964 Mozambique. Founding of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique.
25 June 1996 Saudi Arabia. Truck bombing of al-Khubar Towers facility in Dhahran, in which
19 U5 servicemen were killed, and hundreds of others were wounded.
26 June 1995 Ethiopia. Attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Italy. Arrest of 13 members of the Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya in Milan.
 Chronology of International Terrorism
record of international terrvrism
The following incidents were determined to meet the criteria o, f the Intelligence
Community's Incident Review Panel since publication of the previous issue of the
Terrorism Review. These incidents are the basis for the State Department's Pat-
terns of Global Terrorism, published annually as the US Government's official
~
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 25 February Ethiopia: An armed group kidnapped an Austrian national traveling from Gode
to Denan. The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claimed responsibility.
ONLF's London office announced in a i6 March interview that the group would
not release the hostage because it is being pursued by Ethiopian soldiers. The
Austrian Embassy is pressuring the International Red Cross to interven
and exploitation of oil resources in Chad
Chad: Gunmen kidnapped six French and two Italian nationals in the Tibesti
region. Chadian forces freed all but one French hostage on 22 March. The National
Front for the Renewal of Chad (FNTR) claimed responsibility in a statement to the
press, saying they would release the remaining hostage on the condition that
French troops withdraw from Chad, and Western oil companies halt exploration
2l February Pakistan: Unidentified gunmen shot and killed two Iranian engineers near the
Iranian cultural center in Karachi. The shooting may have been to mark the anni-
versary of the 20 February 1997 attack on the Iranian cultural center in MuItan~
Europe
22 February Ireland: Police discovered a large explosive device. hidden near the village of
Redhills the Irish Republican Arm Continuity Coasncil (CIRA)
planned to smuggle the device into Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland by CIRA militants
town of Hackballscross suspect the device was to be taken into
Ireland: Bomb disposal experts found and defused a large car bomb outside the.
Ireland: Irish police found a 1,300-pound bomb hidden in a vehicle in Dundalk,
a few miles from the Northern Ireland border, suspect disgruntled
members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were planning to detonate the device
 in Northern Ireland to embarrass Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, who was visiting
Colombia: Unidentified guerrillas bombed the Cano Lirnon-L'ovenas oil pipeline
Colombia: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas kid-
napped two French businessmen in Meta Province. One victim was released
shortly after the ab u i n with a huge ransom demand by the rebels for his
together with the Panamanian and Colombian Presidents
Colombia: National Liberation Arrny (ELN) rebels dynamited the Cano Limon-
Covenas oil pipeline, eausin 1 000 barrels of oil to spill. The attack occurred 200
miles northeast of Bogota
Colombia: An army unit in Barranquilla captured two ELN rebels and charged
them with plotting to bomb the annual assembly of the Inter-American Develop-
ment Bank. The rebels had in their possession plans of the site, a schedule of
events for the annual meeting, and a detailed blueprint for where the bombs would
be placed. The Army unit also seized two landmines and 25 pounds of explosives.
The rebels had intended to travel to the nearby resort of Cartagena and set off a car
bomb shortly before the closing ceremony on 18 March of the three-day meeting,
which drew bankers, financiers, and other officials from across the Americas. ELN
guerrillas initially had planned to detonate the device on LS or 16 March to kill
Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori who attended the opening of the assembly
21 March Colombia: FARC guerrillas kidnapped a US citizen near La Vega. The hosta e is
a retired Esso Colombia worker who does not have kidnap insurance
Colombia: FARC rebels killed three persons, wounded I4 others, and kidnapped
at least 27 at a roadblock near Bogota. Four US citizens and one Italian were
among the civilians who were kidnapped. Two civilians, one soldier, and six guer-
rillas were killed when armed troops moved in to clear the roadblock. The acting
president of the National Electorial Council (CNE) and his wife were also among
the victims and were released on 25 March. The rebels released nine of the Colom-
bian hostages on 27 March, and one US hostage escaped his captors on 2 ApriL~
Colombia: At the British Petroleum oilfield in Cupiagua, a bomb blast injured
one US citizen and two British workers. At least one bomb had been placed near
the oil workers' sleeping trailers and detonated about midnight. A hole in the
perimeter fence was found at the oil camp and police are blaming the attack on the
ELN. ~~
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 Summary of Indigenous Terrorism---March 1998
The incidents and situations listed below are not a detailed accounting of all
domestic terrorist incidents, but provide an overview of selected indigenous terror-
Somalia On 9 March a bomb exploded in Mogadishu, killing at least 12 persons and injur-
ing 17 others.
Bangladesh On 10 March, in Chittagong, Bangladesh, suspected activists abducted two Bang-
ladeshi security workers employed by United Meridian Corporation. The kidnap-
pers freed one hostage and demanded $10,800 in ransom for the release of the
other. Army and police teams are searching for the remaining hostage. United
Meridian suspects that activist insurgents opposed to a recent peace treaty are
responsible for the kidnapping. The treaty ended two decades of insurgency in the
Hill Tracts where the US company i~ undertaking a seismic survey for oil and gas
under aproduction-sharing contract.
On 20 March in Tokyo, the third anniversary of the Sarin gas attack, three beer cans
filled with a white chlorine-like liquid were found in a public toilet in the Kasumi-
gaseki subway station, causing one person to become ill
Pakistan A bomb explosion on the Lahore to Quetta Chiltan express train on 9 March killed
at least five persons and injured 35 others
On 10 March a bomb exploded on a crowded commuter train at the Walton Rail-
way Station in Lahore, killing at least eight persons and injuring 36 others
A massive car bomb exploded in heavy traffic in the Maradana area of Colombo on
5 March, killing 32 persons,. injuring at least 257 others, and damaging shops, vehi-
cles, atrain station, and a pedestrian bridge. The 26-passenger van was driven by a
suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber and had been
modified to contain the explosives and funnel the blast horizontally.~~
A time bomb exploded near the Eravur clock tower on 9 March in Batticaloa, kill-
ing four civilians and one police officer, wounding 26 bystanders, and damaging
shops and at least one vehicle. The bomb, hidden in a tractor trailer loaded with
bags of rice, exploded when a convo of Army and police vehicles passed by. The
~
LTTE is probably responsiblp
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 Europe
Spain Authorities deactivated a bomb placed outside a bank building in Motrico on
10 March. The Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) organization is suspected.
Unknown assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a military headquarters build-
ing in Bilbao on 10 March causing minor damage suspect members or
sympathizers of ETA~~
On 17 March British Army bomb disposal experts disarmed an explosive device at
asocial club in Larne, Northern Ireland. The authorities located the bomb after
security monitors s otted a man planting the device in a hallway. The LVF claimed
responsibility
On 24 March militants launched several mortar rounds at a police station in
Forkhill, Northern Ireland. Two devices landed within the station's grounds, but
only one detonated, causing minor damage. Police bomb experts defused two addi-
tional devices found inside their launch tubes. Authorities suspect breakaway
members of the Irish Republican Army.
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 and two other persons, and wounded three others
score their summons to the people not to vote in the coming election
On 2 March in Caqueta Department, 1,000 Revolutionary Awned Forces of Colom-
bia (FARC) rebels clashed with the Army, killing 70 soldiers and 28 civilians. On 7
March, FARC rebels met with several reporters and said their action was to under-
FARC guerrillas kidnapped two mayors in Huila Department on 2 March.
town's mayor and five councilmen,
On i 1 March in San Francisco, National Liberation Army guerrillas kidnapped the
Peru On 8 March in Yarhuilca Province, 20 Sendero Luminoso SL) rebels killed a judge
wounding 44 others. The Armed Ldamic Croup (GIA) is probably responsible
armed struggle
On 21 March in Lima, four SL rebels shot and killed the union leader of a shanty-
town and wounded his daughter. The subversives left a series of messages at the
scene, including slogans against the Fujimori government and hailing the SL's
Algeria A bomb exploded in Douar Bou Ghalboun on 4 March, killing three persons and
Suspected GIA militants armed with axes and knives killed 19 civilians on 10
March in Boumedfaa.
and injuring five others. The GIA is probably responsible
An armed group opened fire on a market in Tiaret, on 12 March, killing 10 persons
Egypt Gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle in Al-Minya no 23 March, killing four
police officers. AI-Gama'at al-Islamiyya is suspected
Israel An device ex lolled on a road in East Jerusalem on 13 March, injuring four Pales-
tinians.
A bomb exploded at a bus station in Afula on I4 March, wounding an Israeli.
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