Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda ({{lang-ar|???????}}, al-Q??idah; "the foundation" or "the base") is the name given to an international Islamic fundamentalist campaign comprised of independent and collaborative cells that all profess the same cause of reducing outside influence upon Islamic affairs. Though al-Qaeda is philosophically heterogeneous, prominent members of the movement are considered to have Salafi beliefs. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8524679

Incidents for which al-Qaeda is believed by some to be responsible

Note: Al-Qaeda does not have a habit of taking credit for actions, resulting in a great deal of ambiguity over how many attacks the group has actually conducted. In addition following the U.S. declaration of the War on Terrorism in 2001, at least one of the U.S. government's branches has made a great effort to highlight connections of as many groups and actions as possible to al-Qaeda. This might result in erroneous attributions. In this respect, some prefer to attribute to Al-Qaedaism actions that might not be directly planned by Al-Qaeda as a military headquarter, but which are inspired by its tenets and strategies.

Related Topics:
War on Terrorism - 2001 - Al-Qaedaism

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The first militant attack that al-Qaeda allegedly carried out consisted of three bombings which were targeted at U.S. troops in Aden, Yemen, in December 1992. A Yemeni and an Austrian tourist died in the bombing.

Related Topics:
Aden - Yemen - 1992 - Austria

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There are claims that al-Qaeda operatives assisted in the shooting down of U.S. helicopters and the killing of U.S. servicemen in Somalia in 1993. (see: Battle of Mogadishu)

Related Topics:
Helicopter - Somalia - 1993 - Battle of Mogadishu

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Ramzi Yousef, who was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing (though probably not an al-Qaeda member at the time), and Khalid Sheik Mohammed planned Operation Bojinka, a plot to destroy airplanes in mid-Pacific flight using explosives. An apartment fire in Manila, Philippines exposed the plan before it could be carried out. Youssef was arrested, but Mohammed evaded capture until 2003.

Related Topics:
Ramzi Yousef - Khalid Sheik Mohammed - Operation Bojinka - Manila, Philippines - 2003

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Al-Qaeda is believed to be responsible for a bombing at a U.S. military facility in Riyadh in November 1995, which killed two people from India and five Americans. Al-Qaeda is also thought by some to be responsible for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing which killed American military personnel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; this attack and the previous one are usually ascribed to Hizbullah.

Related Topics:
Riyadh - November - 1995 - India - 1996 - Khobar Towers bombing - Dhahran, Saudi Arabia - Hizbullah

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Al-Qaeda is believed to have conducted the bombings in August 1998 of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 5,000 others.

Related Topics:
Bombings - 1998 - Nairobi - Kenya - Dar es Salaam - Tanzania

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In December 1999 and into 2000, al-Qaeda planned attacks against U.S. and Israeli tourists visiting Jordan for millennial celebrations; however, the Jordanian authorities thwarted the planned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial. Al-Qaeda also attempted the bombing of the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California during the millennium holiday, although the bomber Ahmed Ressam was caught at the US-Canadian border with bombs in the trunk of his car. Also, al-Qaeda planned to attack the USS The Sullivans on January 3, 2000, but that effort failed due to too much weight being put on the small boat meant to bomb the ship.

Related Topics:
December - 1999 - 2000 - Israel - Jordan - Los Angeles International Airport - Los Angeles, California - Ahmed Ressam - Canadian - USS ''The Sullivans'' - January 3

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For more information about those three plots, see: 2000 millennium attack plots

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They are also thought to be responsible for the October 2000 USS Cole bombing. German police foiled a plot to destroy a cathedral in Strasbourg, France in December 2000. Al-Qaeda is thought to be responsible. See: Strasbourg cathedral bombing plot

Related Topics:
2000 - USS Cole bombing - German - Cathedral - Strasbourg - France - December - Strasbourg cathedral bombing plot

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The most destructive act ascribed to al-Qaeda was the series of attacks in the USA on September 11th, 2001.

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Several attacks and attempted attacks since September 11, 2001 have been attributed to al-Qaeda. The first of which was the Paris embassy attack plot, which was foiled.

Related Topics:
September 11 - 2001 - Paris embassy attack plot

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The second of which involved the attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid, who proclaimed himself a follower of Osama bin Laden, and got close to destroying American Airlines Flight 63).

Related Topics:
Richard Reid - American Airlines - Flight 63

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More subsequent plots included the El Ghriba synagogue bombing in Djerba, Tunisia and attempted attacks in Jordan, Indonesia, Morocco, and Singapore. See: Singapore embassies attack plot. The network has also been implicated in the Limburg tanker bombing, of complicity in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and in numerous bombings in Pakistan. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, and his group, Beyyiat el-Imam, was responsible for the assassination of US diplomat Laurence Foley in Jordan; Al-Qaeda is responsible for the terrorist car bombing in Mombasa in November 2002, the Riyadh Compound Bombings, and the Istanbul Bombings in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2003.

Related Topics:
El Ghriba - Synagogue bombing - Djerba - Tunisia - Jordan - Indonesia - Morocco - Singapore - Singapore embassies attack plot - Limburg tanker bombing - Kidnap - Murder - Wall Street Journal - Daniel Pearl - Laurence Foley - Terrorist car bombing - November - 2002 - Riyadh Compound Bombings - Istanbul Bombings - Istanbul - Turkey - 2003

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Al-Qaeda has strong alliances with a number of other Islamic militant organizations including the Indonesian Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah. That group was responsible for the October 2002 Bali bombing.

Related Topics:
Jemaah Islamiyah - October - 2002 - Bali bombing

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Although there have been no identified al-Qaeda attacks within the territory of the United States since the September 11, 2001 attacks, numerous al-Qaeda attacks in the Middle East, Far East, Africa and Europe have caused extensive casualties and turmoil. In the aftermath of several March 11, 2004 attacks on commuter trains in Madrid, a London newspaper reported receiving an email from a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, claiming responsibility and a videotape claiming responsibility was also found.

Related Topics:
September 11, 2001 attacks - March 11 - 2004 - Attacks on commuter trains in Madrid - London

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It is also believed that al-Qaeda was involved in the 7 July 2005 London bombings, a series of attacks against mass transit in London which killed 52 people. A statement from a previously unknown group, "The Secret Organization of al-Qaeda in Europe", claimed responsibility; however, the authenticity of the statement and the group's connection to al-Qaeda has not been independently verified. The suspected perpetrators have not been definitively linked to al-Qaeda, although the contents of a video tape made by one of the bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan prior to his death and subsequently sent to Al Jazeera gives strong credence to an al-Qaeda connection. An apparently separate terrorist cell attempted to duplicate the attack later that month, but their bombs failed to detonate.

Related Topics:
7 July 2005 London bombings - Mohammad Sidique Khan - Al Jazeera

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Al-Qaeda is suspected in being involved with the 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks in Egypt. On July 23, 2005, a series of suspected car bombs killed about 90 people and wounded over 150. The attack was the deadliest terrorist action in the history of Egypt.

Related Topics:
2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks - July 23 - 2005 - Egypt

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