Munich massacre
Location Munich, West Germany
Target(s) Israeli Olympic team
Date September 5 -- 6, 1972
4:30 AM -- 12:04 AM (UTC+1)
Attack type mass murder, massacre, hostage-taking
Deaths 17
Perpetrator(s) Black September
Claimed motive Israeli-Palestinian conflict


Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States that was triggered by a group of militant university students who took over the U.S. diplomatic mission in Tehran on November 4, 1979. The students were supported by Iran's post-revolutionary regime that was in the midst of solidifying power. The students objected to U.S. influence in Iran and its support of the recently fallen Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. They held 63 U.S. diplomats and three other U.S. citizens hostage until January 20, 1981. Of those captured, 52 were held hostage until the conclusion of the crisis 444 days later.

Bhopal disaster
The Bhopal Disaster took place in the early hours of the morning of December 3, 1984,[1] in the heart of the city of Bhopal in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, immediately killing nearly 3,000 people and ultimately causing at least 15,000[2] to 22,000 total deaths. Bhopal is frequently cited as one of the world's worst industrial disasters.[3][4] The International Medical Commission on Bhopal was established in 1993 to respond to the disasters.


Pan Am Flight 103
Date December 21, 1988
Cause Terrorist bombing
Site Lockerbie, Scotland
Origin London Heathrow International Airport
Destination John F. Kennedy International Airport
Fatalities 270 (including 11 on ground)
Aircraft type Boeing 747-121
Operator Pan American World Airways
Tail number N739PA
Passengers 243
Crew 16
Survivors 0


Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
Location Tokyo, Japan
Target(s) Tokyo Metro
Date March 20, 1995
7:00-8:10 (UTC+ 9)
Attack type Chemical
Deaths 12
Injured 50 severe, 984 temporary vision problems
Perpetrator(s) Aum Shinrikyo


U.S. Embassy bombings (August 7, 1998),in
Kenyan and Tanzanian killing 223 people


Columbine High School massacre
Location Columbine, Colorado, USA
Target(s) Students and faculty at Columbine High School.
Date April 20, 1999
11:19 am -- 12:08 pm (UTC-6)
Attack type School shooting, mass murder, massacre, suicide attack, improvised explosives
Weapon(s) Intratec TEC-DC9, Hi-Point 995 Carbine, Savage 67H pump-action shotgun, Stevens 311D double barreled sawed-off shotgun
Deaths 15 (including the 2 perpetrators)
Injured 24
Perpetrator(s) Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold


USS Cole bombing
Location Aden, Yemen
Target(s) USS Cole (U.S. Navy)
Date October 12, 2000
11:18 am (UTC+3)
Attack type suicide bombing
Deaths 17 sailors, 2 suicide bombers
Injured 39 sailors
Perpetrator(s) al-Qaeda, carried out by Ibrahim al-Thawr and Abdullah al-Misawa


September 11, 2001 attacks
Location New York City, U.S. (1st & 2nd)
Arlington, U.S. (3rd)
Shanksville, U.S. (4th)
Target(s) World Trade Center and The Pentagon (fourth target is unknown, but suspected to be a location in Washington, D.C.; Al-Qaeda claims it was to be the United States Capitol[1]
Date Tuesday, September 11, 2001
8:46 am -- 10:28 am (UTC-4)
Attack type Suicide attack, Aircraft hijacking
Deaths 2,993 (including 19 terrorists)
Injured Unknown
Perpetrator(s) al Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden, see also Responsibility and Organizers on the right hand column


2002 Bali bombings
Location Bali, Indonesia
Target(s) Two nightclubs with Western clientel, US Consular office
Date 12 October 2002
23:05 (UTC+8)
Attack type Suicide bombing, car bomb, and other bombing
Deaths 202
Injured 209
Perpetrator(s) Jemaah Islamiyah members


Moscow theater hostage crisis
Location Moscow, Russia
Target(s) Dubrovka theatre
Date October 23, 2002 (2002-10-23)-26 October 2002
Attack type Hostage crisis
Deaths At least 129 hostages, at least 170 total
Injured Over 700
Perpetrator(s) Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (Chechen rebel group)
Movsar Barayev (leader)
Abu Bakar (deputy leader)
Shamil Basayev (claimed responsibility for organisation


2004 Madrid train bombings
Location Madrid, Spain
Target(s) Madrid Commuter Train System
Date 11 March 2004
07:30 -- 08:00 (UTC+1)
Attack type Backpack bombs
Deaths 191
Injured 2050


Beslan school hostage crisis
Location Beslan, North Ossetia-Alania (Russia)
Target(s) School Number One (SNO)
Date 1 September 2004
~9:30am -- 3 September 2004 ~5:00pm (UTC+3)
Attack type Hostage taking
Deaths At least 386 (including 31 terrorists)
Injured Over 700
Perpetrator(s) Shamil Basayev's Riyadus Salihiin group


2004 Sinai bombings
Location Taba and Nuweiba, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Target(s) hotels popular with tourists
Date 7 October 2004
Attack type car bombings
Deaths 34 or 35, mostly Israeli
Injured 171
Perpetrator(s) masterminded by Iyad Saleh and carried out by a Palestinian group
Claimed motive presumably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict


7 July 2005 London bombings
Location London, United Kingdom
Target(s) London Underground and a double-decker bus
Date 7 July 2005
8:50 am -- 9:47 am (UTC+1)
Attack type Suicide bombings
Deaths 52
Injured ≈700
Perpetrator(s) Hasib Hussain, Mohammad Sidique Khan, Germaine Lindsay, and Shehzad Tanweer


Virginia Tech massacre
Location Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
Target(s) Virginia Tech
Date Monday, April 16, 2007
7:15 a.m. and 9:41 a.m.--9:51 a.m.[1] (EDT)
Attack type School shooting, mass murder, murder-suicide, massacre
Weapon(s) Glock 19, Walther P22
Deaths 33 (including the perpetrator)[2][3]
Injured 25[4]
Perpetrator(s) Seung-Hui Cho