Chronology of Significant
Terrorist Incidents—1997

A series of letter bombs with Alexandria, Egypt, postmarks were discovered at Al-Hayat newspaper bureaus in Washington, DC; New York City; London, United Kingdom; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Three similar devices, also postmarked in Egypt, were found at a prison facility in Leavenworth, Kansas. Bomb disposal experts defused all the devices, but one detonated at the Al-Hayat office in London, injuring two security guards and causing minor damage.

At the Atrush refugee camp approximately 400 militants took 1,500 Turkish male refugees hostage and fled to nearby Garo mountain after the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) closed the camp. There are approximately 5,000 to 8,000 persons remaining at the camp. UNHCR and Turkish Government officials believe the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is responsible.

A Palestinian gunman opened fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claimed this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine."

Fifty Yemeni tribesmen kidnapped six German tourists and their German tour guide in Wadi al-Dabaat, demanding $12 million from the Yemen Government. On 12 March the tribesmen released the seven hostages.

Yemeni tribesmen kidnapped four German tourists who were returning to Sanaa from Marib. A letter was sent to the German Embassy threatening to kill the hostages if the Yemeni Government did not pay a ransom of roughly $3 million. On 6 April 1997 the tribesmen released the hostages. No ransom was paid.

Arsonists set fire to an upholstery shop in Manama, killing four Indian expatriates who were trapped in their home above the shop. Shia extremists are suspected.

Unknown assailants killed a French woman in Bouzeguene and dumped her body in a well. The Armed Islamic Group is suspected.

Arsonists set fire to a store in Sitra, killing a Bangladeshi and injuring another. Shia extremists are suspected.

Unknown assailants kidnapped two Italian tourists and their Yemeni driver near Kohlan. Security forces freed the hostages the next day.

Two bombs detonated in the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, killing 15 persons, including two suspected suicide bombers, and wounding 168 others. A dual US-Israeli citizen was among the dead, and two US citizens were among the wounded. The Izz-el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yemeni tribesmen kidnapped an Italian tourist they randomly picked out among six others traveling between Rada and Aman. The tribesmen released the tourist on 10 August. They reportedly kidnapped him to pressure the government to recover a car confiscated in 1994.

Tribesmen kidnapped six Italian tourists traveling to Aden from Mukallah. They released the hostages on 15 August.

Tribesmen kidnapped four Italian tourists in Khami. They released the hostages the next day.

Three suicide bombers detonated bombs in the Ben Yehuda shopping mall in Jerusalem, killing eight persons, including the bombers, and wounding nearly 200 others. A dual US-Israeli citizen was among the dead, and seven US citizens were wounded. The Izz-el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), claimed responsibility for the attack.

Gunmen attacked a tourist bus in front of the Egyptian National Antiquities Museum in Tahrir Square, Cairo, killing nine German tourists and their Egyptian busdriver, and wounding eight others.

Unknown assailants shot and wounded two Israeli security personnel as they sat in a parked vehicle outside an apartment building housing an Israeli Embassy family in Amman. The Jordanian Islamic Resistance claimed responsibility for the attack. The group demanded the release of a Jordanian soldier serving a life sentence for killing seven Israeli schoolchildren and threatened further attacks if Israeli diplomatic personnel did not leave within a month.

Nine PKK terrorists kidnapped two Bulgarian and one Turkish engineers from a coal mine. The Turkish engineer was found dead, but the Bulgarians were released unharmed on 16 October.

Bani Dabian tribesmen kidnapped a British businessman and two Yemenis near Sumayr. The tribesmen demanded financial aid for their tribe and completion of electricity and water projects in the region. They released the hostages on 30 October.

Yemeni tribesmen kidnapped four French tourists in Saada. The tribesmen demanded the return of a car they claimed the government confiscated because of lack of proper documentation. Authorities freed the hostages the next day.

Al-Hadda tribesmen kidnapped two Russian doctors and their wives in the Zamar region to pressure the government into handing down death sentences to four residents who raped a boy from their tribe. The tribesmen released the four hostages on 10 November.

Gunmen opened fire on the Qatari Ambassador to Yemen's car in Sanaa. The ambassador escaped the attack. Militants opposed to the mid-November Middle East and North Africa economic conference in Qatar may be responsible.

Al-Sha'if tribesmen kidnapped a US businessman near Sanaa. The tribesmen sought the release of two fellow tribesmen who were arrested on smuggling charges and several public works projects they claim the government promised them. They released the hostage on 27 November.

Al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (IG) gunmen shot and killed 58 tourists and four Egyptians and wounded 26 others at the Hatshepsut Temple in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor. Thirty-four Swiss, eight Japanese, five Germans, four Britons, one French, one Colombian, a dual-national Bulgarian/Briton, and four unidentified persons were among the dead. Twelve Swiss, two Japanese, two Germans, one French, and nine Egyptians were among the wounded. The IG militants left a leaflet at the scene calling for the release of Umar Abd al-Rahman, the IG spiritual leader imprisoned in the United States.

Unknown gunmen shot and killed a Hungarian Yeshiva student and wounded an Israeli student in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Unidentified hooded attackers killed a German-born man in his home in Ain el Hajar, Saida Province. The victim had lived in Algeria since 1952, had converted to Islam, and was married to an Algerian woman.

Yemeni tribesmen kidnapped a US citizen, two Italians, and two unspecified Westerners near Aden to protest the eviction of a tribe member from his home. The kidnappers released the five hostages on 27 November without incident.

Authorities defused a powerful time bomb found inside a gas cylinder at a Turkish facility adjoining the international ATAS oil refinery in Mersin. The ATAS refinery is a joint venture of Royal Dutch/Shell group, Mobil Oil, British Petroleum (BP), and Turkey's Marmara Petrol.