U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
1995 APRIL: PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, 1994
Department of State Publication 10239
Office of the Secretary
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Philip C. Wilcox, Jr.
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
There were 321 international terrorist attacks during 1994, a 25-percent
decrease from the 431 recorded the previous year and the lowest annual
total in 23 years. Sixty-six were anti-US attacks, down from 88 in 1993.
A powerful bomb destroyed a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires in
July, killing nearly 100 persons and wounding more than 200 others. The
bombing could well be the work of Hizballah, which claimed
responsibility for an almost identical bombing of the Israeli Embassy in
Buenos Aires in 1992.
A serious hijacking occurred on 24 December in Algiers when terrorists
from the Armed Islamic Group took over an Air France jet, murdered three
passengers, and flew the plane with 170 hostages to Marseille. The
assault ended two days later with a remarkably successful rescue
operation by French commandos that resulted in the deaths of all four
hijackers and no other fatalities.
There were numerous deadly attacks by the Islamic extremist group HAMAS
against Israelis. In April a bomb in Fula that exploded near a commuter
bus killed eight persons and wounded 50, mostly children who were
waiting to ride the bus back from school. In October a suicide bomber
detonated a device inside a public bus in the heart of Tel Aviv's
business and shopping district, killing 22 Israeli passengers plus the
perpetrator and wounding at least 48. Also in October, two HAMAS gunmen
armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked civilians in a popular
restaurant district in the center of Jerusalem, killing two Israeli
citizens and wounding 13 persons, including two Americans.
On 9 October, Israeli Army Corporal Nachshon Wachsman, while hitchhiking
in central Israel, was kidnapped by HAMAS terrorists. They demanded the
release of HAMAS spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin and 200 Palestinian
prisoners from Israeli jails and released a videotape of Wachsman in
captivity asking that Israel comply with the demand. Israeli forces
located Wachsman in a West Bank house, which they stormed in an effort
to free him, but his captors killed him as the raid began. One Israeli
soldier and three kidnappers were also killed.
A member of the Jewish extremist group Kach attacked Palestinian
worshippers at Hebron's al-Ibrahimi Mosque in February, killing 29 and
wounding more than 200. The Israeli Cabinet subsequently outlawed Kach
and the affiliated group Kahane Chai, declaring them to be terrorist
organizations.
Four Americans were killed in terrorist attacks during 1994. Corporal
Nachshon Wachsman, mentioned previously, held dual Israeli and American
citizenship. Three other Americans died in an apparent suicide bombing
of a Panamanian commuter aircraft in July that killed all 21 persons
aboard. Four Americans were wounded as a result of HAMAS attacks in
Israel during the year, and another -- an American priest -- was wounded after
he was kidnapped by terrorists in the Philippines.
Worldwide casualties numbered 314 persons dead and 663 wounded.
There were no confirmed acts of terrorism -- either international or
domestic -- committed in the United States during 1994. In January,
explosive devices were found outside two New York City office buildings.
Both buildings housed Jewish-American organizations that actively
support the Middle East peace process. These suspected terrorist
incidents remain under investigation by the FBI.
On 24 May, four men convicted in the February 1993 bombing of the World
Trade Center in New York City were each sentenced to 240 years in
prison. The judge arrived at this figure by calculating the life
expectancy of each of the six persons killed in the attack and adding
mandatory prison terms for assault on a federal officer. Two other
suspects in the bombing remained at large at the end of the year.
The trial of 12 defendants accused of plotting to blow up several
landmarks in New York City began in 1995.
In October, a judge in St. Louis, Missouri, sentenced three members of
the Abu Nidal organization (ANO) to prison sentences of 21 months for
plotting acts of terrorism within the United States. The three had pled
guilty to Federal racketeering charges that included allegations they
smuggled money and information, bought weapons, recruited members,
illegally obtained passports, and obstructed investigations.
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