This article possibly contains original research .(November 2007) |
The reasons behind terrorist attacks in Great Britain are many. During the 20th century, most attacks were carried out by various Irish Republican Army (IRA) groups and were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict (the Troubles). In the late 20th century there were also isolated attacks by Middle Eastern terrorist groups, though the vast majority of the attacks were the work of the IRA and splinter groups. During the 21st century, however, most terrorist incidents in Britain have been linked to Islamic fundamentalism. [1]
Since 1970, there have been at least 3,395 terrorist-related deaths in the UK, the highest in western Europe. [2] The vast majority of the deaths were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict and happened in Northern Ireland. [2] Between 1971 and 2001, there were 430 terrorist-related deaths in Great Britain. Of these, 125 deaths were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict, [3] and 305 deaths were linked to other causes [4] – most of the latter deaths occurred in the Lockerbie bombing. [4]
From 1912 to 1914 the female enfranchisement movement, the suffragettes, orchestrated a bombing and arson campaign which was described by the suffragettes themselves as terrorism. Emmeline Pankhurst said the suffragettes committed these acts to "terrorise the British public" and the Women's Social and Political Union reported their own acts as a "Reign of terror". [7] [8] The campaign included burning down the houses of members of the cabinet, [9] an axe being thrown at the Prime minister, [10] [11] attempted bombings of train stations including with nail bombs, [12] : 58 and attempts to flood towns by attacking water courses. [13] [14] : 385 C.J. Bearman asserts that there were at least 337 arson or bombing attempts and that the cost of the campaign in 2021 money amounted to 140-240 million pounds. [15] 1300 people had been arrested and imprisoned by the end of the campaign. [16]
From January 1939 to March 1940, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of Britain. It was known as the S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign. During the campaign, the IRA carried out almost 300 attacks and acts of sabotage in Britain, killing seven people and injuring 96. [17] Most of the casualties occurred in the Coventry bombing on 25 August 1939.
These are known attacks which could have constituted a threat to life had they worked or been large enough. The list does not include attacks that were only at the planning stage, but were not actually in operation.
Given the nature of counter-terrorism, successes in preventing terrorist attacks in the UK will not always come to light, or not be as heavily promoted as intelligence failures. However, during the police advocacy of 90-day detention in relation to the Terrorism Act 2006 they produced documents listing all the cases about which they could not go into details. [113] Authorities often state, without going into details, numbers of attacks prevented, e.g. 12 attacks were reported in March 2017 to have been thwarted in the previous year, some only hours before they were to have been attempted. [114]
These are cases where either the Terrorism Acts were invoked, or which the authorities alleged were terrorist in nature at the time. This list includes both plots that were foiled at an early stage before any materials were actually assembled, and totally innocent suspects.
The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the IRA's ceasefire that year. Like the Provisional IRA before it, the Real IRA saw itself as the only rightful successor to the original Irish Republican Army and styled itself as simply "the Irish Republican Army" in English or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish. It was an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated a proscribed terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Jemaah Islamiyah was a Southeast Asian Islamist militant group based in Indonesia, which was dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. On 25 October 2002, immediately following the JI-perpetrated 2002 Bali bombings, JI was added to the UN Security Council Resolution 1267.
The 1996 Manchester bombing was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a 1,500-kilogram (3,300 lb) lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the centre of Manchester, England. It was the biggest bomb detonated in Great Britain since the Second World War. It targeted the city's infrastructure and economy and caused significant damage, estimated by insurers at £700 million, a sum surpassed only by the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing, also by the IRA.
Terrorism in Saudi Arabia has mainly been attributed to Islamic extremists. Their targets included foreign civilians—Westerners affiliated with its oil-based economy—as well as Saudi Arabian civilians and security forces. Anti-Western attacks have occurred in Saudi Arabia dating back to 1995. Saudi Arabia itself has been accused of funding terrorism in other countries, including Syria.
Kuwait has experienced various terror attacks, including those carried out by ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other acts of Islamic terrorism. Various terror attacks in Kuwait were associated with the Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War, and the subsequent American military support in Kuwait.
Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by the Australian government to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to Australia and to Australian citizens overseas. Australia has experienced acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to target terrorism.
In the United States, a common definition of terrorism is the systematic or threatened use of violence in order to create a general climate of fear to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, or ideological change. This article serves as a list and a compilation of acts of terrorism, attempts to commit acts of terrorism, and other such items which pertain to terrorist activities which are engaged in by non-state actors or spies who are acting in the interests of state actors or persons who are acting without the approval of foreign governments within the domestic borders of the United States.
This is a timeline of actions by the Irish republican paramilitary groups referred to as the Real Irish Republican Army and New Irish Republican Army. The Real IRA was formed in 1997 by disaffected members of the Provisional IRA. Since July 2012, when Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) and other small republican groups merged with it, the group has been called the New IRA; although it continues to call itself simply "the Irish Republican Army".
The dissident Irish republican campaign began at the end of the Troubles, a 30-year political conflict in Northern Ireland. Since the Provisional Irish Republican Army called a ceasefire and ended its campaign in 1997, breakaway groups opposed to the ceasefire and to the peace agreements have continued a low-level armed campaign against the security forces in Northern Ireland. The main paramilitaries involved are the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and formerly Óglaigh na hÉireann. They have targeted the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the British Army in gun and bomb attacks as well as with mortars and rockets. They have also carried out bombings that are meant to cause disruption. However, their campaign has not been as intensive as the Provisional IRA's, and political support for groups such as the Real IRA is "tending towards zero".
Many terrorist attacks have occurred in Kenya during the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1980, the Jewish-owned Norfolk hotel was attacked by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In 1998, the US embassy was bombed in Nairobi, as was the Israeli-owned Paradise hotel in 2002 in Mombasa. In 2013, the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab killed 67 people at Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall. There have also been many other attacks.
Islamic terrorism has been carried out in Europe by the jihadist groups Islamic State (ISIL) or Al-Qaeda as well as Islamist lone wolves since the late 20th century. Europol, which releases the annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend report (TE-SAT), used the term "Islamist terrorism" in reports for the years 2006–2010, "religiously inspired terrorism" for the years 2011–2014, and has used "jihadist terrorism" since then. Europol defines jihadism as "a violent ideology exploiting traditional Islamic concepts".
This article covers attacks and activity of terrorism in Belgium.
On 15 September 2017, at around 08:20 BST, an explosion occurred on a District line train at Parsons Green Underground station, in London, England. Thirty people were treated in hospital or an urgent care centre, mostly for burn injuries, by a botched, crude "bucket bomb" with a timer containing the explosive chemical TATP. Police arrested the main suspect, 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker Ahmed Hassan, in a departure area of the Port of Dover the next day, and subsequently raided several addresses, including the foster home of an elderly couple in Sunbury-on-Thames where Hassan lived following his arrival in the United Kingdom two years earlier claiming to be an asylum seeker.
This is a timeline of the events and actions during the Troubles that were carried out in Great Britain, the vast majority of which were carried out by Irish Republican paramilitaries mainly the Provisional IRA were by far the most active but both the Official IRA and the Irish National Liberation Army, also carried out a number of attacks, which included bombings and shootings. Ulster Loyalist paramilitary groups also carried out a small number of violent actions.
The New Irish Republican Army, or New IRA, is an Irish republican paramilitary group. It is a continuation of the Real Irish Republican Army, which began to be called the 'New IRA' in July 2012 when Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) and other small republican militant groups merged with it. The group calls itself simply "the Irish Republican Army". The New IRA has launched many attacks against the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the British Army. It is the largest and most active of the "dissident republican" paramilitary groups waging a campaign against the British security forces in Northern Ireland.