List of terrorist incidents, 1988
Encyclopedia
This is a timeline of incidents in 1988 that have been labelled as "terrorism
" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government
or its forces (see state terrorism
and state-sponsored terrorism
).
April 12: Japanese Red Army
terrorist Yu Kikumura
was arrested at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike
in possession of pipe bombs on his way to New York
. March 6: An attempted attack on an army band by the Provisional IRA is foiled by the SAS
. March 16: Michael Stone
kills three mourners in a gun and grenade attack on an IRA
funeral in Belfast
. March 19: During the funeral of IRA member Kevin Brady, killed in the cemetery attack by Michael Stone, a car approached the funeral procession at high speed. The car was surrounded by mourners, and two men later identified as corporals in the British Army were overpowered, dragged from the car, taken to waste ground and shot dead by the IRA April 23: A powerful car bomb explodes near to a vegetable market, damaging vehicles and many buildings, in the Tabbaneh area, Tripoli, Lebanon. No one claims for responsibility in this case, which kills 69 people with injures another 111. May 16: Gunmen attack, using machine guns, hand grenades, and tear-gas bombs, the Acropol Hotel and Sudan social club, Khartoum
, Sudan
, killing 7 and injuring 21. Three terrorist arrested on suspiction of incident same day, that hold Lebanese
passport. June: The IRA
shoots down a British army helicopter in Northern Ireland
June 15: Six British soldiers are killed by an IRA booby trap bomb attached to their vehicle in Market Square, Lisburn
. June 22: Cadres from the African National Congress' militant wing, MK, detonated a limpet mine in an amusement arcade in downtown Johannesburg
. Ten casualties were reported. June 28: American diplomat, and defense naval attache Captain William Nordeen
was assassinated by Marxist terrorist group Revolutionary Organization 17 November
by a remote controlled car bomb
in Athens
. July 8: A powerful bomb blast in downtown Jalalabad
, Afghanistan, damages the Ghar Cinema, 45 houses and 25 vehicles, which is blamed on Taliban militants. At least 31 killed with 33 injured. November 3: The People's Liberation Front of Tamil
Eelam
(PLOTE) comprising about 200 Tamil secessionists invaded Maldives
.At request of president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
, Indian Army
active assistance of the Research and Analysis Wing
launched launched a military campaign (Operation Cactus
) to fight the mercenaries out of Maldives
. December 1: Four armed men seized a bus with 30 schoolchildren and a teacher in the city of Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz
). Hijackers demanded USD 3 millions and a plane to leave the Soviet Union. Their demands were satisfied, but after landing in Israel
terrorists were arrested and extradited back to USSR. There were no fatalities. and
Month Unk.: Jordanian
terrorist detonates bomb
on railroad tracks ahead of US Duty Train en route from West Germany
to West Berlin
while traversing East Germany. No significant injuries. December: Pan Am Flight 103
bombing.
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
or its forces (see state terrorism
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
and state-sponsored terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism is a term used to describe terrorism sponsored by nation-states. As with terrorism, the precise definition, and the identification of particular examples, are subjects of heated political dispute...
).
April 12: Japanese Red Army
Japanese Red Army
The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
terrorist Yu Kikumura
Yu Kikumura
was allegedly a member of the Japanese Red Army, an armed militant organization.Police arrested Kikumura in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in 1986 when they found him carrying a bomb in his luggage...
was arrested at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
in possession of pipe bombs on his way to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. March 6: An attempted attack on an army band by the Provisional IRA is foiled by the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
. March 16: Michael Stone
Michael Stone (loyalist paramilitary)
Michael Stone is a Northern Irish loyalist who was a volunteer in the Ulster Defence Association . Stone was born in England but raised in the Braniel estate in East Belfast, Northern Ireland. Convicted of killing three people and injuring more than sixty in an attack on mourners at Milltown...
kills three mourners in a gun and grenade attack on an IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
funeral in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. March 19: During the funeral of IRA member Kevin Brady, killed in the cemetery attack by Michael Stone, a car approached the funeral procession at high speed. The car was surrounded by mourners, and two men later identified as corporals in the British Army were overpowered, dragged from the car, taken to waste ground and shot dead by the IRA April 23: A powerful car bomb explodes near to a vegetable market, damaging vehicles and many buildings, in the Tabbaneh area, Tripoli, Lebanon. No one claims for responsibility in this case, which kills 69 people with injures another 111. May 16: Gunmen attack, using machine guns, hand grenades, and tear-gas bombs, the Acropol Hotel and Sudan social club, Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, killing 7 and injuring 21. Three terrorist arrested on suspiction of incident same day, that hold Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
passport. June: The IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
shoots down a British army helicopter in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
June 15: Six British soldiers are killed by an IRA booby trap bomb attached to their vehicle in Market Square, Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
. June 22: Cadres from the African National Congress' militant wing, MK, detonated a limpet mine in an amusement arcade in downtown Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. Ten casualties were reported. June 28: American diplomat, and defense naval attache Captain William Nordeen
William Nordeen
William Edward Nordeen was an American diplomat. Born in Amery, Wisconsin and raised in nearby Centuria, he was the United States defense and naval attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece...
was assassinated by Marxist terrorist group Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a...
by a remote controlled car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. July 8: A powerful bomb blast in downtown Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
, Afghanistan, damages the Ghar Cinema, 45 houses and 25 vehicles, which is blamed on Taliban militants. At least 31 killed with 33 injured. November 3: The People's Liberation Front of Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
Eelam
Eelam
Eelam also spelled Eezham, Ilam or Izham in English is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Eelam is also a name for the spurge , toddy and gold. The exact etymology and the original meaning of the word are not clearly known, although there are number of...
(PLOTE) comprising about 200 Tamil secessionists invaded Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
.At request of president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was President of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Transport, he was nominated as President by the Majlis of the Maldives and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir on November 11, 1978. He eventually became the longest-ruling head of government in Asia...
, Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
active assistance of the Research and Analysis Wing
Research and Analysis Wing
The Research and Analysis Wing is India's external intelligence agency. It was formed in September 1968 after the poor performance of the Intelligence Bureau in the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and the India-Pakistani war of 1965 convinced the then government of India that a specialized, independent...
launched launched a military campaign (Operation Cactus
Operation Cactus
The 1988 Maldives coup d'état, whose rescue efforts were code-named Operation Sandhya by the Indian armed forces, was the attempt by a group of Maldivians led by Abdullah Luthufi and assisted by about 80 armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organisation from Sri Lanka, the People's Liberation...
) to fight the mercenaries out of Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
. December 1: Four armed men seized a bus with 30 schoolchildren and a teacher in the city of Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz
-Notable structures:In Vladikavkaz, there is a guyed TV mast, tall, built in 1961, which has six crossbars with gangways in two levels running from the mast structure to the guys.-Twin towns/sister cities:...
). Hijackers demanded USD 3 millions and a plane to leave the Soviet Union. Their demands were satisfied, but after landing in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
terrorists were arrested and extradited back to USSR. There were no fatalities. and
Month Unk.: JordanianJordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
terrorist detonates bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
on railroad tracks ahead of US Duty Train en route from West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
while traversing East Germany. No significant injuries. December: Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
bombing.