Worst terrorist strikes-

compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston
last updated 3 December 2008

Deadliest terrorist strikes in the United States

date	attack and location	fatalities	injuries
11 Sep 2001	crashing of hijacked planes into World Trade Center, New York City, New York, Pentagon in Alexandria, Virginia, and site in Pennsylvania	2,993	8,900
19 Apr 1995	truck bombing of federal building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	169	675
16 Sep 1920	bombing near bank in New York City, New York	38	300
1 Oct 1910	bombing at newspaper building in Los Angeles, California	20	20
4 May 1886	bombing and riot at Haymarket Square rally in Chicago, Illinois	12	60
29 Dec 1975	bombing at airport in New York City, New York	11	75
22 Jul 1916	bombing at parade in San Francisco, California	10	40
26 Feb 1993	truck bombing of World Trade Center, New York City, New York	6	1,040

Deadliest terrorist strikes, worldwide *

* Includes attacks resulting in at least 100 fatalities. Some sources do not consider all of these attacks to be terrorist attacks; for discussion see this page.

date	attack and location	fatalities	injuries
11 Sep 2001	crashing of hijacked planes into World Trade Center, New York City, New York, Pentagon in Alexandria, Virginia, and site in Pennsylvania, USA	2,993	8,900
14 Aug 2007	multiple car bombings in Al-Qataniyah and Al-Adnaniyah, Iraq	520	1,500
20 Aug 1978	arson of theater in Abadan, Iran	477	?
1-3 Sep 2004	hostage taking at school in Beslan, Russia (includes 30 terrorists killed)	366	747
23 Jun 1985	mid-air bombing of Air India flight off Ireland, and attempted bombing of second flight in Canada	331	4
12 Mar 1993	15 bombings in Bombay, India	317	1,400
8 Aug 1998	truck bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Saalam, Tanzania	303	4,954
23 Oct 1983	truck bombings of U.S. Marine and French barracks, Beirut, Lebanon	301	161
22 Sep 1997	attack at Ben Talha, Algeria	277	?
30 Dec 1997	attack at Ami Moussa, Algeria	272	?
21 Dec 1988	mid-air bombing of Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland	270	12
20 Nov-5 Dec 1979	hostage taking at Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (includes 87 terrorists killed)	240	600
21 Feb 2004	armed attack and arson at refugee camp, Uganda	239	60
29 Aug 1997	attacks at Sidi Moussa and Hais Rais, Algeria	238	?
31 Oct 1999	intentional crash of Egypt Air flight off Massachusetts, USA, by pilot	217	0
12 Oct 2002	car bombing outside nightclub in Kuta, Indonesia	202	350
23 Nov 2006	multiple car bombings in Baghdad, Iraq	202	250
11 Jul 2006	multiple bombings on commuter trains in Mumbai, India	200	714
18 Apr 2007	multiple bombings in Baghdad, Iraq	193	197
11 Mar 2004	bombings of four trains in Madrid, Spain	191	1,876
2 Mar 2004	multiple Suicide bombings at shrines in Kadhimiya and Karbala, Iraq	188	430
14 Sep 2005	multiple suicide bombings and shooting attacks in Baghdad, Iraq	182	679
7 Jul 2007	multiple suicide truck bombings in Armili and area, Iraq	182	270
26-29 Nov 2008	multiple shooting and grenade attacks and hostage takings in Mumbai, India (includes 9 terrorists killed)	174	370
4 Jan 1998	attacks at Had Chekala, Remka, and Ain Tarik, Algeria	172	?
19 Sep 1989	mid-air bombing of French UTA flight near Bilma, Niger	171	0
26 Oct 2002	hostage taking and attempted rescue in theater in Moscow, Russia (includes 41 terrorists killed)	170	656
19 Apr 1995	truck bombing of federal building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA	169	675
16 Apr 1925	bombing of cathedral in Sophia, Bulgaria	160	?
27 Mar 2007	two truck bombings in Tal Afar, Iraq	152	347
10 Aug 2001	attack on train south of Luanda, Angola	152	146
14 May 1985	armed attack on crowds in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka	150	?
14-19 June 1996	hostage taking in Budennovsk, Russia, and two failed rescue attempts	143	435
18 Oct 2007	bombing of motorcade in Karachi, Pakistan	140	540
3 Aug 1990	armed attack at two mosques in Kathankudy, Sri Lanka	140	70
3 Feb 2007	truck bombing in marketplace in Baghdad, Iraq	137	334
6 Mar 2007	two suicide bombings and additional attacks in Hilla, Iraq	137	310
28 Feb 2005	car bombing outside medical clinic in Hilla, Iraq	135	130
2 Oct 1990	crash of hijacked PRC airliner in Guangzhou, PRC	132	49
13 Sep 1999	bombing of apartment building in Moscow, Russia	130	150
18 Apr 1987	roadway ambush near Alut Oya, Sri Lanka	127	64
23 Nov 1996	crash of hijacked Ethiopian Air flight off Comoros	127	48
29 Aug 2003	car bombing outside mosque in Najaf, Iraq	125	500
5 Jan 2006	bombings in Karbala, Ramadi, and Baghdad, Iraq	124	203
13 Aug 1990	armed attack at mosque in Eravur, Sri Lanka	122	79
27 Feb 2004	bombing and fire on ferry near Manila, Philippines	118	9
29 Nov 1987	mid-air bombing of Korean Air flight near Burma	115	0
23 Sep 1983	crash of Gulf Air flight following mid-air bombing over the UAE	112	0
27 Nov 1989	mid-air bombing of Avianca flight in Bogota, Columbia	110	?
1 Feb 2004	two suicide bombings of political party offices in Irbil, Iraq	109	240
21 Apr 1987	bombing of bus depot in Columbo, Sri Lanka	106	295
22 Sep 1993	crash of airliner struck by missile in Sukhumi, Georgia	106	26
17 Feb 2008	suicide bombing at dogfighting festival, Kandahar, Afghanistan	105	65
24 Jun 2004	multiple bombings and armed attacks in several cities in Iraq	103	324
16 Oct 2006	suicide bombing of military convoy near Habarana, Sri Lanka	103	150
11 Jan 1998	attack on movie theater and mosque at Sidi Hamed, Algeria	103	70
4-10 Jul 2007	hostage taking and army storming of mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan	102	?
22 Jan 2007	multiple bombings and mortar attack on marketplaces in Baghdad and Baquba, Iraq	101	186
13 Dec 1921	bombing of Bolgard palace in Bessarabia (modern Moldova)	100	?
18 May 1973	mid-air bombing of Aeroflot airliner, Siberia	100	0
4 Dec 1977	crash of hijacked Malaysian airliner near Malaysia	100	0

Significant terrorist acts using unconventional weapons

date	attack and location	fatalities	injuries
6 Apr 2007	suicide bombing with truck carrying chlorine tanks in Ramadi, Iraq	35	50
6 Sep 1987	water poisoning with pesticide at constabulary in Zamboanga City, Philippines	19	140
21 Jan 1994	attack with chemical grenades on village of Ormancik, Turkey	16	?
28 Jan 2007	explosion of truck bomb carrying chlorine tank	16	?
20 Mar 1995	sarin nerve gas attack in subway in Toyko, Japan	12	5,511
20 Feb 2007	bombing of chlorine tanker truck in Taji, Iraq	9	150
16 Mar 2007	two suicide bombings using trucks carrying chlorine tanks in Falluja, Iraq	8	350
27 Jun 1994	nerve gas attack in Matsumoto, Japan	7	270
21 Feb 2007	explosion of car bomb carrying chlorine tanks in Baghdad, Iraq	6	73
9 Oct 2001	anthrax-laced letters mailed to Washington, DC, USA	4	7
18 Sep 2001	anthrax-laced letters mailed to West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, and New York City, New York, USA	1	10
19 Apr 1946	cyanide poisoning in prison near Nuremberg, Germany	0	2,283
9-19 Sep 1984	salmonella poisoning in restaurants in The Dalles, Oregon, USA	0	751
19 Apr 1995	tear gas attack in Yokohama, Japan	0	272

Terrorist attacks producing high numbers of non-fatal injuries*

* This listing is incomplete and includes attacks resulting in 300 or more injuries apart from fatalities. Note than these figures are not as consistently defined by reporting authorities.

date	attack and location	fatalities	injuries
11 Sep 2001	crashing of hijacked planes into World Trade Center, New York City, New York, Pentagon in Alexandria, Virginia, and site in Pennsylvania, USA	2,993	8,900
20 Mar 1995	sarin nerve gas attack in subway in Toyko, Japan	12	5,511
8 Aug 1998	truck bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Saalam, Tanzania	303	4,954
19 Apr 1946	cyanide poisoning in prison near Nuremberg, Germany	0	2,283
11 Mar 2004	bombings of four trains in Madrid, Spain	191	1,876
14 Aug 2007	multiple car bombings in Al-Qataniyah and Al-Adnaniyah, Iraq	520	1,500
12 Mar 1993	15 bombings in Bombay, India	317	1,400
31 Jan 1996	suicide truck bombing of bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka	91	1,400
26 Feb 1993	truck bombing in garage of World Trade Center, New York City, USA	6	1,040
6 Dec 1989	truck bombing at federal police building in Bogota, Columbia	52	1,000
9-19 Sep 1984	salmonella poisoning in restaurants in The Dalles, Oregon, USA	0	751
1-3 Sep 2004	hostage taking at school in Beslan, Russia (includes 35 terrorists killed)	372	747
11 Jul 2006	multiple bombings on commuter trains in Mumbai, India	200	714
1 Oct 1982	truck bombing in public square in Tehran, Iran	60	700
7 Jul 2005	bombings of three subway trains and one bus in London, UK	54	700
8 Oct 2006	possible poisoning of food in Numaniyah, Iraq	7?	700?
14 Sep 2005	multiple suicide bombings and shooting attacks in Baghdad, Iraq	182	679
19 Apr 1995	truck bombing of federal building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA	169	675
26 Oct 2002	hostage taking and attempted rescue in theater in Moscow, Russia (includes 41 terrorists killed)	170	656
27 Dec 2002	two car bombings outside government house, Chechnya, Russia	71	640
20 Nov-5 Dec 1979	hostage taking at Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (includes 87 terrorists killed)	240	600
17 Jul 1996	bombing of train in Sri Lanka	70	600
18 Oct 2007	bombing of motorcade in Karachi, Pakistan	140	540
15 Aug 1998	two car bombings in Omagh, Northern Ireland, UK	29	530
26 Jun 1996	truck bombing at U.S. military housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia	19	515
29 Aug 2003	car bombing outside mosque in Najaf, Iraq	125	500
16 Sep 1999	car bombing in Volgodonsk, Russia	17	480
14-19 June 1996	hostage taking in Budennovsk, Russia, and two failed rescue attempts	143	435
2 Mar 2004	multiple suicide bombings at shrines in Kadhimiya and Karbala, Iraq	188	430
30 Oct 2008	12 bombings in Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Barpeta Road, and Bongaigaon, India	84	400
20 Nov 2003	suicide bombings of British consulate and bank in Istanbul, Turkey	30	400
26-29 Nov 2008	multiple shooting and grenade attacks and hostage takings in Mumbai, India	174	370
12 Oct 2002	car bombing outside nightclub in Kuta, Indonesia	202	350
16 Mar 2007	two suicide bombings using trucks carrying chlorine tanks in Falluja, Iraq	8	350
27 Mar 2007	two truck bombings in Tal Afar, Iraq	152	347
3 Feb 2007	truck bombing in marketplace in Baghdad, Iraq	137	334
24 Jun 2004	multiple bombings and armed attacks in several cities in Iraq	103	324
26 Sep 1980	suicide bombing in Munich, West Germany	13	312
6 Mar 2007	two suicide bombings and additional attacks in Hilla, Iraq	137	310
1 Aug 1980	bombing at railway station in Bologna, Italy	85	300
1 Oct 1981	car bombing in Beirut, Lebanon	83	300
14 Jul 1987	twin car bombs and two other bombs in shopping area in Karachi, Pakistan	72	300
15 Dec 1976	bombing at airport in Baghdad, Iraq	40	300
16 Sep 1920	bombing near bank in New York City, New York, USA	34	300
5 Mar 1998	bombing of bus in Colombo, Sri Lanka	32	300

Updated from "Selected Terrorist Incidents: U.S. and Abroad," version 5

Sources:

"Deadliest terrorist strikes in the United States"--see Incidents of Mass Casualty Terrorism; also Aguilera, Kristin, "Wall St. Reacts to Catastrophe, Moves Toward Recovery," 2002, Museum of American Financial History, on line [http://www.financialhistory.org/fh/2002/74-1.htm]; "The Bombing of the Los Angeles Times," Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive, on line [http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/100110_LATimesFire/100110_TheLosAngelesTimesFire_usc-edu.htm]; CBS, "The Lessons of Oklahoma," 13 April 2000, CBS News, on line [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/04/13/national/main183825.shtml]; CHS, "The Dramas of Haymarket," Chicago Historical Society, on line [http://www.chicagohistory.org/dramas/act2/act2.htm]; "San Francisco's Future," Museum of the City of San Francisco, on line [http://www.sfmuseum.org/loc/prepday.html]; "Terrorism Chronology," 2004, Australian Broadcast Corporation, on line [http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/s368066.htm].
"Deadliest terrorist strikes, worldwide"--see Incidents of Mass Casualty Terrorism.
"Significant terrorist acts using unconventional weapons"--see Review of Fall 2001 Anthrax Bioattacks; also Center for Non-Proliferation Studies, on line; Ballard, Tim, Jason Pate, Gary Ackerman, Diana McCauley, and Sean Lawson, "Chronology of Aum Shinrikyo's CBW Activities," 15 March 2001, on line, Center for Nonproliferation Studies[http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/pdfs/aum_chrn.pdf]; Berthelsen, Christian, 21 Feb. 2007, "Rape allegations amid Iraq car bombings," Los Angeles Times, on line [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-ex-iraq21feb22,0,3966937.story?coll=la-home-headlines]; Cameron, Gavin, "WMD Terrorism in the United States: The Threat and Possible Countermeasures," spring 2000, The Nonproliferation Review, on line, Center for Nonproliferation Studies [http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/]; Gamel, Kim, 23 Feb. 2007, "Pentagon warns of chemical attacks," Seattle Times, on line [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003585106_iraq23.html]; Inglesby, Thomas V., et ali, "Anthrax as a Biological Weapon, 2002, Updated Recommendation for Management," 2002, JAMA, 287:2236-2252, on line at [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/287/17/2236]; Mickolus, Edward F., Transnational Terrorism: A Chronology of Events, 1968-1979, 1980, Greenwood Press (Westpoint, CT); Murphy, Brian, 20 Feb. 2007, "9 killed when gas tanker bombed in Iraq," Kansas City Star, on line [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/16743025.htm]; The New York Times, 22 April 1946; Rosenberg, Barbara Hatch, "Analysis of the Anthrax Attacks," 2002, on line, Federation of American Scientists [http://www.fas.org/bwc/news/anthraxreport.htm]; Torok, T. J., et ali, "A large community outbreak of salmonellosis caused by intentional contamination of restaurant salad bars," Aug. 1997, JAMA, 278:389-395; Reuters, 18 March 2007, "350 ill in Iraq chlorine attacks," Times of India, on line [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/Rest_of_World/350_ill_in_Iraq_chlorine_attacks/articleshow/1775566.cms]; BBC, 6 April 2007, "Ramadi suicide bombing 'kills 35'," BBC News, on line [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6532271.stm]; ?.
"Terrorist attacks producing high numbers of non-fatal injuries"--see Incidents of Mass Casualty Terrorism; also Center for Non-Proliferation Studies, on line; Ballard, Tim, Jason Pate, Gary Ackerman, Diana McCauley, and Sean Lawson, "Chronology of Aum Shinrikyo's CBW Activities," 15 March 2001, on line, Center for Non-Proliferation Studies[http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/pdfs/aum_chrn.pdf]; BBC, "1998: Dozens die in Omagh bombing," BBC News, on line [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/15/newsid_2496000/2496009.stm]; BBC, "Istanbul rocked by double bombing," 20 Nov. 2003, BBC News, on line [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3222608.stm]; BBC, "Turkish anger at British warning," 26 Nov. 2003, BBC News, on line [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3240628.stm]; Brooke, Andrew, "Terror Strikes at Rush Hour," 2004, The Moscow News, on line [http://www.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2004-5-1]; CBS, "The Lessons of Oklahoma," 13 April 2000, CBS News, on line [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/04/13/national/main183825.shtml]; CDISS, "Terrorism, 1980-1989," 1999, CDISS, on line [http://www.cdiss.org/terror_1980s.htm]; Dobson, Christopher, and Ronald Payne, The Never-Ending War: Terrorism in the 80's, 1989, Facts on File (New York, NY); Hudson, Rex A., et ali, Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why: The 1999 Government Report on Profiling Terrorists, 1999, Lyons Press (Guilford, CT); The New York Times, 22 April 1946; Mickolus, Edward F., Transnational Terrorism: A Chronology of Events, 1968-1979, 1980, Greenwood Press (Westpoint, CT); MIPT, "Other group attacked private citizens & property target (Oct. 1, 1981, Lebanon)," MIPT, on line [http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=2995]; Quillen, Chris, "Mass Casualty Bombings Chronology," 2002, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 25:293-302; Torok, T. J., et ali, "A large community outbreak of salmonellosis caused by intentional contamination of restaurant salad bars," Aug. 1997, JAMA, 278:389-395; "The war zone today," 25 Sept. 2003, Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka, on line [http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/SecurityReport/profile.html]; Zolotov, Andrei Jr., "Volgodonsk Bomb Leaves a Swath of Destruction," 21 Sept. 1999, The St. Petersburg Times, on line [http://www.times.spb.ru/archive/times/502/news/n_volgodonsk.htm]; BBC, 7-13 July 2005, on line, BBC; Reuters, 18 March 2007, "350 ill in Iraq chlorine attacks," Times of India, on line [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/Rest_of_World/350_ill_in_Iraq_chlorine_attacks/articleshow/1775566.cms]; BBC, 30 Oct. 2008, "Deadly blasts rock Indian state," BBC News, on line [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7699105.stm]; Hussain, Wasbir, 31 Oct. 2008, "Sophisticated attack leaves 77 dead in India," AP/Google News, on line [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gnanZCCGoFB6Prcks7AbutGRI-iAD945HJ500]; Lakshmi, Rama, 31 Oct. 2008, "61 killed, 350 hurt in bombings across India's Assam state," Washington Post, on line [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/30/AR2008103000537.html?hpid=sec-world]; DPA, 1 Nov. 2008, "Indian police arrest three over Assam bombings - Summary," The Earth Times, on line [http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/239620,indian-police-arrest-three-over-assam-bombings--summary.html]; PTI, 5 Nov. 2008, "Harper discusses global financial crisis with Indian PM," The Hindu, on line [http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200811051656.htm].

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