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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
1994 APRIL: PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, 1993
Department of State Publication 10136
Office of the Secretary
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
There were 427 international terrorist attacks in 1993, an increase from
the 364 incidents recorded in 1992. The main reason for the increase was an
accelerated terrorism campaign perpetrated by the Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) against Turkish interests. Most of the group's 150 attacks took place
on only two days, 24 June and 4 November, and were staged throughout
Western Europe. Had it not been for these two days of coordinated attacks,
the level of terrorism would have continued the downward trend of recent
years.
Anti-US attacks fell to 88 last year from the 142 recorded in 1992.
Approximately 21 percent of the international terrorist attacks last year
were directed at US targets [2].
The one international terrorist "spectacular" was the 26
February bombing of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. This
massive explosion left a 30 x 30- meter (100 X 100-foot) opening in the
underground parking garage, scattered debris throughout an adjacent subway
station, and filled all 110 floors of the north tower with smoke. The
effects of the blast and the ensuing fire and smoke caused six deaths and
1,000 injuries.
The six dead, all Americans, were John DiGiovanni of Valley Stream, New
York; Robert Kirkpatrick of Suffern, New York; Steve Knapp of New York
City; Monica Smith of Seaford, New York; William Macko of Bayonne, New
Jersey; and Wilfredo Mercado of Brooklyn, New York.
The WTC bombing is considered an act of international terrorism because
of the political motivations that spurred the attack and because most of
the suspects who have been arrested are foreign nationals. However, the FBI
has not found evidence that a foreign government was responsible for the
bombing.
Some of the suspects arrested in the case are closely linked to others
arrested in July in a thwarted plot to blow up selected targets in New York
City, including the United Nations building and the Holland and Lincoln
Tunnels. Umar Abd al-Rahman, the Muslim cleric from Egypt who resided in
New Jersey, and several of his followers were indicted in connection with
this plot and were charged with conspiracy. The case went to trial in
September 1993, and four suspects were convicted in March 1994.
The WTC bombing was the only terrorist attack in 1993 that produced
American fatalities. Two Americans, Jill Papineau and Raymond Matthew
Chico, were wounded when a bomb exploded in a cafe in Cairo, Egypt, on the
same day as the WTC bombing. Three people were killed, and 16 others were
wounded in the cafe bombing.
Western Europe had more international terrorist incidents in 1993-- 180
attacks--than any other region, primarily because of the two waves of PKK
violence. The Middle East had the next highest number-- 101--followed by
Latin America with 97.
Iran remains the world's most active and most dangerous state sponsor of
terrorism, through its own state agents and the radical groups it supports.
Iraq also continues to sponsor terrorism. Iraq planned to assassinate
former President George Bush during his visit to Kuwait in April, and its
agents were responsible for numerous attacks on international humanitarian
and relief Personnel in Iraq.
Last year 109 people were killed in terrorist attacks, and 1,393 were
wounded, the highest casualty total in five years.
[2] We have not included in our terrorism data base the
25 January 1993 shooting outside CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, in
which two CIA employees were killed and three others wounded. Mir Aimal
Kansi, who is being sought in connection with the attack and is still at
large, is not known to be affiliated with a terrorist group or to be an
agent of a foreign government.
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