List of terrorist incidents in 1981
![]() | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2010) |
This is a timeline of incidents in 1981 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).
![]() | This list is incomplete; you can help by . (August 2008) |
Guidelines[]
- To be included, entries must be notable (have a stand-alone article) and described by a consensus of reliable sources as "terrorism".
- List entries must comply with the guidelines outlined in the manual of style under MOS:TERRORIST.
- Casualty figures in this list are the total casualties of the incident including immediate casualties and later casualties (such as people who succumbed to their wounds long after the attacks occurred).
- Casualties listed are the victims. Perpetrator casualties are listed separately (e.g. x (+y) indicate that x victims and y perpetrators were killed/injured).
- Casualty totals may be underestimated or unavailable due to a lack of information. A figure with a plus (+) sign indicates that at least that many people have died (e.g. 10+ indicates that at least 10 people have died) – the actual toll could be considerably higher. A figure with a plus (+) sign may also indicate that over that number of people are victims.
- If casualty figures are 20 or more, they will be shown in bold. In addition, figures for casualties more than 50 will also be underlined.
- Incidents are limited to one per location per day. If multiple attacks occur in the same place on the same day, they will be merged into a single incident.
- In addition to the guidelines above, the table also includes the following categories:
- 0 people were killed/injured by the incident.
- 1–19 people were killed/injured by the incident.
- 20–49 people were killed/injured by the incident.
- 50–99 people were killed/injured by the incident.
- 100+ people were killed/injured by the incident.
List[]
Date | Type | Dead | Injured | Location | Details | Perpetrator | Part of |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 January | Bombing | 0 | 0 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 11 men disguised as soldiers penetrated into the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and placed bombs on several aircraft, destroying several of them. | Boricua Popular Army | |
March 3 | Armed Assault | 0 | 1 | Puerto Montt, Chile | A commando of the MIR assaulted a supermarket in the city of Puerto Montt. Injuring a policeman | Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile) | Armed resistance in Chile (1973-90) |
28 March | Hijacking | 2 (+4 attackers) | 2 | Indonesia | 5 members of the islamic extremist group Komando Jihad hijack Garuda Indonesia Flight 206. They kill the pilot and an Indonesian commando before four of them are killed and one is arrested. | Komando Jihad | Terrorism in Indonesia |
27 April | Kidnapping | 2 | 0 | Naples, Italy | Christian Democracy politician Ciro Cirillo is kidnapped and his two bodyguards are killed by the Red Brigades. Cirillo was held until 25 July when a ransom was paid. | Red Brigades | |
1 May | Assassination | 1 | 0 | Vienna, Austria | Austrian Socialist Party politician Heinz Nittel who was also the president of the Austrian–Israeli Friendship League. 21-year-old Iraqi Hesham Mohammed Rajeh was convicted for the shooting and was also linked to the 1981 Vienna synagogue attack | Hesham Mohammed Rajeh | Israeli–Palestinian conflict |
16 May | Bombing | 1 | New York City, United States | One dead in an explosion in the toilets at the Pan Am terminal at New York's JFK airport. The bombing is claimed by the Puerto Rican Resistance Army.[1] | Puerto Rican Resistance Army | Terrorism in the United States | |
May 22 | Bombing | 0 | 2 | Santiago, Chile | A high powered bomb exploded in the PDI headquarters in Santiago. Wounding 2 civilians | Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile) | Armed resistance in Chile (1973-90) |
12 June | Attempted Bombing, Shooting | 4 | Unknown | San José, Costa Rica | In an attack that was intended to dynamite the bust of John F. Kennedy in the park of the same name located in San Pedro de Montes de Oca, in the province of San José, like a protest against the American imperialism. In the process of confronting the police resulting in the death of three policemen and a taxi driver. The members were arrested.[2] | "La Familia" militant group | Terrorism in Costa Rica |
25 June | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Las Serritas de Managua, Nicaragua | An attack left one civilian killed, the attack took place in Las Serritas de Managua, Managua. A far-right group called 19th of July Christian Resistance Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.[3] | 19th of July Christian Resistance Brigade | Nicaraguan Revolution |
28 June | Bombing | 73 | Tehran, Iran | 73 people are killed in a bombing targeting a meeting of leaders of the Islamic Republican Party at the party's headquarters. | People's Mujahedin of Iran | ||
11 July | Shooting | 9 | Unknown | Caqueta, Colombia | Members of the FARC ambush an army patrol at the site called Riecito, in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico (Caqueta). Two lieutenants and seven noncommissioned officers die. | FARC | Colombian conflict |
15 July | Shooting | 12 (+11) | Unknown | Caqueta, Colombia | Guerrillas of the M-19, ambush two patrols of the Army in the vicinity of Belen de los Andaquies (Caqueta). Twelve soldiers and 9 subversives die. Another 2 guerrillas are killed the same day on the road that leads from Florence to Morelia (Caqueta). | M-19 | Colombian conflict |
3 August | Bombing | 2 | 72 | Piraeus, Greece | A bomb placed by Palestinian terrorists exploded in a travel agency killing two and wounding seventy two other bystanders. | 15 May Organization | Israeli–Palestinian conflict |
10 August | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Athens, Greece | Two bombs exploded outside the Israeli embassy in Athens with no victims | 15 May Organization | Israeli–Palestinian conflict |
20 August | Shooting | 6 | 5 | Meta, Colombia, Colombia | FARC guerrillas ambush troops from the 21 Vargas Battalion in the vicinity of La Uribe and La Macarena (Meta). 6 soldiers die.[4] | FARC | Colombian conflict |
29 August | Shooting, grenade | 2 | 30 | Vienna, Austria | Machine gun and grenade attack on the Stadttempel synagogue in Vienna, 1981 Vienna synagogue attack killing two people and wounding 30. Marwan Hasan and Hesham Mohammed Rajeh were convicted.[5] | Abu Nidal Organization | Israeli–Palestinian conflict |
24–25 September | Shooting, hostage-taking | 1 | 2 | Paris, France | Four gunmen from the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia open fire on the Turkish consulate in Paris before taking 56 hostages. One guard was killed and two other people were wounded. | ASALA | |
6 October | Assassination | 11 (+1 attacker) | 28 (+3 attackers) | Cairo, Egypt | A group of 4 Egyptian Islamic Jihad assassins led by Khalid Islambouli opened fire on a victory parade led by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, killing Sadat and 10 others and wounding 28. 1 gunman was killed and the three others were arrested and executed later. | Egyptian Islamic Jihad Egyptian Islamic Jihad |
|
13 October | Attack, Shooting | 12 | Unknown | Colombia | In a series of assaults perpetrated in Planeta Rica (Córdoba), Valparaíso (Caqueta) and Pavarando Grande (Antioquia), FARC guerrillas massacre 12 peasants.[6] | FARC | Colombian conflict |
20 October | Hijacking | 0 | 0 | Medellín, Colombia | Guerreros of the M-19 seize a plane of Aeropesca in Medellín, and load with arms in the Guajira. They finally do it in the jungles of the south. | M-19 | Colombian conflict |
20 October | Bombing | 3 | 106 | Antwerp, Belgium | Truck bomb attack on a synagogue in Antwerp, Belgium. Three killed and 106 wounded in the 1981 Antwerp bombing.[1] | Unknown | |
20 October | Robbery, murder | 3 | 0 | Nanuet, New York, United States | Members of the May 19th Communist Organization (made up of former Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground members) rob a Brink's armored car at Nanuet mall, killing the guard and two police officers who responded to the scene. | May 19th Communist Organization | |
14 November | Assassination | 2 | 0 | Belfast, United Kingdom | The Provisional IRA (PIRA) shot dead Ulster Unionist Party MP Rev Robert Bradford, at Community Centre, Finaghy, Belfast, along with another man (Kenneth Campbell), who was the caretaker of the premises.[7] | Provisional IRA | The Troubles |
29 November | Car bombing | 64 | 135 | Damascus, Syria | A car bomb destroys four apartment buildings in the Azbakya district of Damascus, Syria, leaving more than 200 people dead. The Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners claimed responsibility for the attack, while the Syrian government put blame on the Muslim Brotherhood.[8][9] | Syrian Muslim Brotherhood | Islamist uprising in Syria |
15 December | Suicide car bombing | 61 | 110 | Beirut, Lebanon | A suicide bomber affiliated with the Iranian group Al-Dawa drove a truck into the Iraqi embassy, killing Lebanon's ambassador to Iraq, Abdul Razzak Lafta, and 60 others. | Al-Dawa | Iran–Iraq War |
17 December | Kidnapping | 0 | 0 | Verona, Italy | US Army Brigadier General James L. Dozier is kidnapped from his apartment in Verona, Italy and held hostage for 42 days by the Red Brigades.[10] | Red Brigades |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Terrorism Chronology
- ^ WebApp
- ^ "GTD Search Results". Global Terrorism Database. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ El Tiempo - Búsqueda en el archivo de Google Noticias
- ^ Palestinians Get Life In Austrian Slayings
- ^ El Tiempo - Búsqueda en el archivo de Google Noticias
- ^ "Dáil Éireann - Volume 330 - 17 November 1981". Dáil Éireann. 17 November 1981. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
- ^ Moslems tied to fatal blast, The Prescott Courier (November 30, 1981)
- ^ Syrian death toll past 150, The Bryan Times (December 2, 1981)
- ^ Collin, Richard Oliver and Gordon L. Freedman. Winter of Fire, Dutton, 1990.
Categories:
- Terrorist incidents in 1981
- Lists of terrorist incidents by year
- Lists of 20th-century terrorist incidents
- 1981-related lists