The following is a
list of non-state terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a
governmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
or its forces (see
state terrorismState terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
and
state-sponsored terrorismState-sponsored terrorism is a term used to describe terrorism sponsored by nation-states. As with terrorism, the precise definition, and the identification of particular examples, are subjects of heated political dispute...
). Assassinations are listed at
List of assassinated people.
There is no single accepted definition of non-state terrorism in common use, so incidents listed here are restricted to those that:
- Are believed to not have been state-sponsored
- Are either commonly called terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, or meet at least some of the commonly used criteria
1800-1899
1865-1877: Over 3000 Freedmen and their
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
allies were killed by a combination of the
Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and well-organized campaigns of violence by local whites in a campaign of terrorist violence that overthrew the reconstructionist governments in the American South and re-established segregation. 1893, 9 December: French anarchist
Auguste VaillantAuguste Vaillant was a French anarchist, most famous for his bomb attack on the French Chamber of Deputies on 9 December 1893. The government's reaction to this attack was the passing of the infamous repressive Lois scélérates.He threw the home-made device from the public gallery and was...
bombs the French
Chamber of DeputiesChamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
injuring 20 deputies.
1900–1949
- Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
1904, 18 May: Ion PerdicarisIon Hanford Perdicaris was a Greek-American playboy who was the centre of a notable kidnapping known as the Perdicaris incident, which aroused international conflict in 1904.-Family life:...
and Cromwell Varley kidnappedIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and ransomed by bandit Mulai Ahmed er RaisuliMulai Ahmed er Raisuni was the Sharif of the Jebala tribe in Morocco at the turn of the 20th Century, and considered by many to be the rightful heir to the throne of Morocco...
in MoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. 1910, 1 October: Los Angeles Times BombingThe Los Angeles Times bombing was the purposeful dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times building in Los Angeles, California, on October 1, 1910 by a union member belonging to the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers. The explosion started a fire which killed 21 newspaper...
by a member of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers Union killed 21 people and injured an additional 100. 1920, 16 September: Wall Street BombingThe Wall Street bombing occurred at 12:01 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 1920, in the Financial District of New York City. The blast killed 38 and seriously injured 143...
killed 38 people and wounded 300 others. 1921, 13 December: 100 soldiers and police officers were killed by a bomb thrown by Bessarabian separatistsBessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
at the Bolgrad palace. 1925, 16 April: A group from the Bulgarian Communist PartyThe Bulgarian Communist Party was the communist and Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when the country ceased to be a communist state...
blew up the roof of St. Nedelya Church in an assaultThe St Nedelya Church assault was an attack upon St. Nedelya Church in Bulgaria. It was carried out on 16 April 1925, when a group of the Bulgarian Communist Party blew up the roof of the St Nedelya Church in the capital Sofia. This occurred during the funeral service of General Konstantin...
during a funeral service, killing 150 people and injuring 500. 1937-1948: The IrgunThe Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
are responsible for numerous attacks in British-mandated Palestine. 1940, 3 March: Politically motivated bombing targeted at the communist newspaper Norrskensflamman (Northern Flame) by various perpetrators. 5 persons were killed, 2 of which were children, along with 5 others injured. 1940-1956: George MeteskyGeorge P. Metesky , better known as the Mad Bomber, terrorized New York City for 16 years in the 1940s and 1950s with explosives that he planted in theaters, terminals, libraries and offices...
, the "Mad Bomber", placed over 30 bombs in New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in public places such as Grand Central Station and The Paramount Theater, injuring ten during this period in protest against the local electric utility. He also sent many threatening letters. 1947, 25 July: Three Romanian terrorists kill an aircrew member aboard a Romanian airline. This is attributed as the first hijacking that resulted in a fatality. 1949, 5 August: 12 killed and dozens injured in the Menarsha synagogue attackThe Menarsha synagogue attack took place on August 5, 1949, in the Jewish quarter of Damascus, Syria. The grenade attack resulted in 12 fatalities.-The attack:...
, DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. 1949, 9 September: 23 perish when a bomb explodes aboard a Quebec Airways Douglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
registration CF-CUA, travelling from Aéroport de l'Ancienne Lorette to Baie-Comeau AirportBaie-Comeau Airport is located south southwest of Baie-Comeau, Quebec, near the St. Lawrence River.-Airlines and destinations:...
, and crashing in Sault-au-Cochon, QuebecSault-au-Cochon is an unorganized territory in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada, in the La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality...
after a man planted a bomb in order to claim his wife's life insurance policy.
1950-1969
1956, 16 June: One man was killed and six others injured when a bomb exploded in
NicosiaNicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
. 1958, 15 August: Three people were killed in a bomb blast
BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. The bombing also injured ten more and on the day that United Nations General Assembly was pondering ways to end violence in the Middle East. 1960, 5 March: The French
freighterA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
La Coubre explodesThe freighter La Coubre exploded at 3:10 p.m. on 4 March 1960, while it was being unloaded in Havana harbor, Cuba. This 4,310-ton French vessel was carrying 76 tons of Belgian munitions from the port of Antwerp. Unloading explosive ordnance directly onto the dock was against port regulations...
, killing between 75 and 100 people with 200 injured. The government suspects sabotage. 1962, 22 May:
Continental Airlines Flight 11Continental Airlines Flight 11, registration N70775, was a Boeing 707 aircraft which exploded in the vicinity of Centerville, Iowa, while en route from O'Hare Airport, Chicago, Illinois, to Kansas City, Missouri, on May 22, 1962...
explodes and crashes near
Unionville, MissouriUnionville is a city in Putnam County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,041 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County.-Geography:Unionville is located at ....
, killing all 45 on board (the only initial survivor succumbed to injuries later in hospital) after it was determined to be a suicide committed as insurance fraud. 1963-1970:
Front de libération du QuébecThe Front de libération du Québec was a left-wing Quebecois nationalist and Marxist-Leninist paramilitary group in Quebec, Canada. It was active between 1963 and 1970, and was regarded as a terrorist organization for its violent methods of action...
(FLQ) committed frequent bombings targeting English businesses and banks, as well as
McGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. The whole bombing campaign resulted in 8 known deaths and numerous injuries. 1965, 26 June: Two simultaneous explosions took place near a restaurant in the
1965 Saigon bombingOn June 26, 1965, during the Vietnam War, a series of two bombings took place in Saigon.42 people were killed in the explosions.- My Canh Café:The first bomb detonated at 8:15 p.m...
during the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The attack killed 42 people and 80 were wounded.
- Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
1967, 12 November: A bomb exploded on board British European Airways Flight 284 near Rhodes killing all 66 people on the aircraft. 1968, 4 September: Three bombs were detonated in Tel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, killing 1 person and injuring 51 people. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign AffairsThe Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other countries....
states the number of injured people at 71. 1969, 12 December: Piazza Fontana bombingThe Piazza Fontana Bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on December 12, 1969 at 16:37, when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana in Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and wounding 88...
, Milano, killing 17 people and wounding 88.
1970–present
See also
External links