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Munich Massacre
In one of the first instances of international terrorism, a terrorist organization named Black September launched an attack on the Olympic village in Munich. Eight gunman took eleven Olympians hostage in the dark of night, awaking them at gun point. In a failed rescue attempt by German Police the gunman opened fire on the hostages, killing them all. Five of the assailants were killed, three of them captured. -
Beirut Barracks Bombings
In one of the first major instances of suicide bombing, a now widely used tactic amongst terrorist groups, the Beirut Bombings, carried out by two bombers, killed 303 and wounded 75. Two terrorists belonging to a group called Islamic Jihad, drove trucks into the barrack buildings where MNF Peacekeepers of US and French origin were operating before detonating their truck-bombs which held an equivalent of 21,000 pounds TNT. -
Air India Flight 182
In an attack carried out by the Sikh militant group Babbar Khalsa, a plane explodes as the result of a bomb over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 passengers and crew. This is the first bombing of a jumbo jet and the largest mass killing in Canadian history. -
World Trade Center Bombing
In the first modern terrorist attack on the U.S., a truck bomb is detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring over 1,000. The bomb was apparently supposed to force the North Tower to crash into the South Tower, which would have killed thousands. The attack was perpetrated by attackers motivated by Islamic fundamentalism, and the displeasure of American foreign policy. All of the attackers and planners were eventually captured and convicted. -
First Cyber-Attack
In the first cyber-terrorist attack, (a controversial label) a white supremacy motivated hacker disabled an Internet Service Provider in Massachusetts, and damaged its systems. The provider had attempted to stop the hacker, but to no avail. The hacker left behind a message to the service provider: "you have yet to see true electronic terrorism. This is a promise". The hacker was never identified. -
9/11 Hijackings
In the deadliest terrorist attack of all time, 19 al-Qaeda operatives boarded four different passenger airliners, subsequently hijacking them. Hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the WTC, and later, another plane was crashed by hijackers into the South tower. Both towers subsequently collapsed, killing thousands. The two other planes that had been hijacked were crashed into the a field and into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. -
Orlando Nightclub Shooting
In a gay nightclub called Pulse in Orlando, Florida, a gunman, Omar Mateen opens fire on party-goers, killing 49. During the attack, the shooter called the police and swore allegiance to the Islamic State. He also told the police that this was a result of U.S. military involvement in Syria and Iraq against ISIS. The scene inside the club was horrific.Terrified patrons hid under dead bodies and in bathrooms to escape the gunfire. This shooting is the deadliest in U.S. history by a single gunman. -
War on Terror is launched
After 9/11, U.S. President George W. Bush declared a war on terror in response to the September 11 attacks. As a result, the U.S deployed troops in various Middle-Eastern countries with specific goals in mind: "1. to Defeat terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and demolish their organizations
2. Identify, locate and demolish terrorists along with their organizations 3. Deny sponsorship, support and sanctuary to terrorists"
