PATTERNS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM: 1981

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00363R000901960025-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 26
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 16, 2007
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: July 1, 1982
• Content Type: REPORT

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SERIES OF UNCLASSIFIED PAPERS ON TERRORISM
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Patterns of
International Terrorism: 1981
July 1982
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Terrorism: The threat or use of violence
for political purposes by individuals or
groups, whether acting for, or in opposi-
tion to, established governmental author-
ity, when such actions are intended to
shock, stun, or intimidate a target group
wider than the immediate victims.
International Terrorism: Terrorism con-
ducted with the support of a foreign
government or organization and/or direct-
ed against foreign nationals, institutions,
or governments. Terrorism has involved
groups seeking to overthrow specific re-
gimes to rectify national or group griev-
ances or to undermine international order
as an end in itself.
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Patterns of
International Terrorism:
1981
Since 1968 we have recorded 7,425
attacks In which 8,088 victims were
held hostage and 12,139 were killed or
Injured.
Both the number of international terrorist
incidents and the number of casualties
resulting from incidents fell in 1981. Deaths
caused by terrorist attacks dropped dra-
matically from 642 in 1980 to 173 in 1981
(figure 1). Despite the decline in the num-
ber of casualties, the long-term trend is
toward more serious threats to human life.
In 1970 about half the international terror-
ist incidents were directed against people
and half were directed against property. In
1981, 80 percent of such incidents were
directed against people.
Figure 1
Attacks against Americans also declined in
number with fewer casualties, but all the
Americans killed in 1981 (as in 1980)
were killed because of their nationality. In
earlier years most were victims of indis-
criminate terrorist attacks that had little or
nothing to do with their citizenship.
The trend toward a broader geographic
spread of international terrorism continued
in 1981; incidents occurred in 91 coun-
tries, more than in any previous year. Gov-
ernment-sponsored international terrorist
attacks were mainly directed against Mid-
dle Easterners in the Middle East.
I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1
1968 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81
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Geographic Distribution of International
Terrorist Incidents, 1981, by Category
North
America
Latin
America
Western
Europe
USSR/
Eastern
Europe
Sub-
Saharan
Africa
Kidnaping
0
10
6
0
1
Barricade-hostage
3
13
12
0
1
Bombing '
12
25
89
1
9
Armed attack
0
7
2
0
1
Hijacking 2
4
9
2
8
1
Assassination
2
7
30
4
3
Sabotage
0
0
1
0
0
Exotic pollution
0
1
0
0
0
Subtotal
21
72
142
13
16
Bombing (minor)
12
33
52
2
6
15
18
15
6
6
Theft, break-in
1
4
5
0
0
Hoax
34
17
18
3
1
Other4
5
12
17
1
3
Subtotal
67
84
107
12
16
' Bombings where damage or casualties occurred, or where a
group claimed responsibility.
2 Hijackings of air, sea, or land transport.
9 Includes assassination or attempt to assassinate where the victim
was preselected by name.
4 Includes conspiracy, and other actions such as sniping, shootout
with police, and arms smuggling.
Key Patterns in 1981
Type of Attack. In 1981, international
terrorists used a variety of methods to
achieve their goals-including kidnaping,
hostage taking, assassination, bombing,
threats, and hoaxes (table 1). The num-
ber of serious incidents-kidnapings, ma-
jor bombings, assassinations, and skyjack-
ings-dropped. Even though assassina-
tions and assassination attempts dropped
from 111 in 1980 to 70 last year, 1981 still
had the second-highest total since we be-
gan to record such incidents in 1968.
Twenty-four countries have granted
asylum to terrorists after a hostage
seizure.
In the first part of 1981 the number of
skyjackings was high, but after a few well-
publicized failures their incidence declined.
In March a Pakistani commercial airliner
was hijacked first to Afghanistan and then
to Syria by the Pakistan Liberation Army.
The resulting release of prisoners in Paki-
stan, combined with publicity and eventual
freedom for the terrorists, probably en-
couraged other, less-successful attempts.
An Indonesian plane was also seized in
March and taken to Thailand where all the
terrorists were killed by Indonesian forces,
and the hijacking of a Turkish plane to
Bulgaria was foiled by the pilot and pas-
sengers. Fewer incidents occurred during
the rest of the year, apart from several
attempts by Eastern Europeans to hijack
planes to the West. One dramatic excep-
tion was the simultaneous hijacking of
three planes from Venezuela via Central
America to Cuba, where the hostages
were released. The total number of sky-
jackings reported in 1981 was 32, four less
than the previous year. Caution is indicat-
ed in using these figures, however, as we
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Middle East/
North Africa
Asia
Kidnaping
5
0
0
0
22
Barricade-hostage
3
0
0
0
32
Bombing '
33
1
0
0
170
Armed attack
15
0
0
0
25
Hijacking 2
3
5
0
0
32
Assassination
20
3
1
0
70
Sabotage
0
0
0
0
1
Exotic pollution
0
0
0
0
1
Subtotal
79
9
1
0
353
Bombing (minor)
13
4
0
0
122
Threat
7
6
0
0
73
Theft, break-in
2
1
0
0
13
Hoax
6
5
1
0
85
Subtotal
50
18
1
1
356
suspect far more incidents may have oc-
curred in Eastern Europe than we have
recorded.
Location of Attacks. Figures for 1981
confirm a clear trend toward a greater
geographic spread of international
terrorism.
1970 48 countries
1975 57 countries
1980 76 countries
1981 91 countries
The great majority of incidents, however,
continued to occur in a few areas where
conditions facilitate publicity and in some
cases provide greater safety for the perpe-
trators-Western Europe, Latin America,
the Middle East, and North America. More
incidents occurred in the United States
than in any other country, but Argentina,
Lebanon, West Germany, France, and Italy
were also sites of frequent terrorism.
Victims. In 1981, citizens of 77 countries
were the victims of international terrorist
incidents, more than in any previous year
since we began to record such statistics in
January 1968. As in past years, US citi-
zens were the primary target, followed by
those of the UK, USSR, France, Israel,
Turkey, and Iraq. Attacks or threats
against citizens of these seven countries
accounted for more than 60 percent of the
709 incidents (including threats and
hoaxes) recorded in 1981. Incidents di-
rected against American citizens or facili-
ties totaled 258 last year.
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Pakistani airliner held by Pakistan Libera-
tion Army at Damascus Airport-one of 32
hijackings in 1981.
In terms of who or what is attacked, there
are several clear and ominous trends. In
1970 about half of the incidents were
against people, the rest against property.
Now, 80 percent are directed against peo-
ple. Diplomats are the foremost category;
the number of attacks against them rose
from an average of 165 per year during
1975-79 to 409 in 1980 and then dropped
to 368 in 1981, when they constituted
more than half of all victims. This is due in
part to the rising number of attacks spon-
sored by governments, which tend to sin-
gle out enemy diplomats, dissidents, and
prominent exiles living abroad. Business-
men, mostly Americans in Latin America,
were the victims in 12 percent of the
incidents, and military personnel were in-
volved in about 9 percent. Attacks against
military personnel constitute one of the
fastest growing categories.
Terrorist Groups. A total of 113 groups
claimed credit for international terrorist in-
cidents in 1981, down slightly from the
high of 128 in 1980. These numbers are
undoubtedly inflated: some groups create
cover names to avoid responsibility for a
particular action, others use them to com-
memorate an anniversary, and common
criminals create still others to mislead in-
vestigators. The terrorists represented 86
nationalities, but, as in the past, Palestin-
ians, Armenians, West Germans, and Cen-
tral Americans were responsible for the
majority of incidents.
Terrorist Events Causing Death or
Injury. Only about one-fourth as many
people were killed in terrorist attacks in
1981 as in the previous year-173 com-
pared with 642. The number injured also
dropped, but not as dramatically (figure
2). The patterns were, however, similar to
previous years. Assassination attempts
and bombings accounted for the majority
of attacks that involved casualties, and
most of these incidents occurred in West-
ern Europe and the Middle East. Terrorists
appear to have been more careful in se-
lecting their targets, and more than half of
such attacks resulted in harm only to the
intended victim, whereas in the past inno-
cent bystanders were much more often
killed or injured.
Attacks that produced casualties occurred
in 56 countries. The greatest number took
place in Lebanon, where many of the
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Figure 2
Deaths and Injuries Due to International Terrorist Attacks
Casualties =Total Killed: 3,841
1,200
I
Middle Eastern terrorist groups are head-
quartered and where responsibility for se-
curity is fragmented. Included in the Leba-
nese total are a number of Iraqi and Iranian
attacks on each other's diplomats.
Fifty-eight terrorist groups claimed respon-
sibility for attacks that produced casualties
in 1981, compared with 49 in 1980. The
Armenian and Palestinian groups were re-
sponsible for most of these attacks. Na-
tionalities most victimized changed little
from 1980: Americans were most numer-
ous among casualties, followed by Israelis,
Britons, Iraqis, and Iranians.
Between 1968 and 1981, 189 American
citizens were killed in International
terrorist attacks. Almost half of them
were victims of indiscriminate kill-
ings, but the number of Americans
singled out for assassination has in-
creased steadily since the mid-1970s,
and all Americans killed In 1981 had
been selected for assassination.
I
Attacks Against Americans. A total of
258 international terrorist incidents were
directed against American citizens or
property during 1981-slightly more than
in most previous years but not as many as
in 1978 and 1980. There were nine kidnap-
ings, 14 assassination attacks, and 91
bombings of US property-about the
same as in 1980. Threats dropped signifi-
cantly from 50 to 29, but hoaxes rose from
25 to 51 (table 2 and figure 3).
A new and ominous development is that all
the Americans killed by international ter-
rorist attacks in 1980 and 1981 were as-
sassinated because of their nationality. In
earlier years, most Americans killed in such
incidents were victims of indiscriminate at-
tacks that had little or nothing to do with
their nationality. Moreover, at least one
terrorist group, the Red Brigades, is known
to have shifted to less well protected
American officials after initially planning to
attack a closely guarded target.
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Geographic Distribution of International
Terrorist Attacks on US Citizens
and Property, 1981, by Category
Type of Event
North
America
Latin
America
Western
Europe
USSR/
Eastern
Europe
Sub-
Saharan
Africa
Kidnaping
0
8
1
0
0
Barricade-hostage
0
2
0
0
0
Bombing '
4
21
21
0
1
Armed attack
0
5
0
0
0
Hijacking 2
4
6
2
4
0
Assassination
0
5
3
0
0
Theft, break-in
0
1
2
0
0
Hoax
6
15
15
3
1
Other4
1
8
8
1
2
Subtotal
15
48
49
6
6
Bombings where damage or casualties occurred, or where a
group claimed responsibility.
2 Hijackings of air, sea, or land transport.
Includes assassination or attempt to assassinate where the victim
was preselected by name.
Includes conspiracy, and other actions such as sniping, shootout
with police, and arms smuggling.
In 1981, 17 percent of incidents directed
against Americans resulted in at least one
casualty. Six Americans were killed and 31
wounded in international terrorist attacks
in 1981. These numbers are slightly lower
than in the last few years. This is partially
due to good fortune; the number of at-
tempted violent attacks has not
decreased.
Seventy-two international terrorist groups
took credit for attacks against Americans
in 1981. The Colombian leftist group, April
19th Movement (M-19) , claimed the larg-
est number. The Red Army Faction (RAF)
and its sympathizers in West Germany and
terrorist groups in El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Peru also carried out a significant
number of attacks against Americans.
In addition to non-government-sponsored
terrorist attacks in 1981, the United States
was confronted by Qadhafi's threat to
assassinate President Reagan and other
senior US Government officials and to at-
tack US facilities abroad.
All six American citizens killed in 1981
were assassinated in Latin America, where
more than one-third of the incidents direct-
ed against Americans occurred. While the
attacks were no more frequent than in
1980, the number of attacks in both 1980
and 1981 was higher than in any previous
year. Five assassination attacks, eight kid-
napings, 37 bombings, and four skyjack-
ings that involved Americans were record-
ed in Latin America during the year:
? In El Salvador 15 incidents took place,
including a series of armed attacks
against the US Embassy in March and
April and the murder of two Americans in
January.
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Middle East/
North Africa
Asia
Kidnaping
0
0
0
0
9
Barricade-hostage
0
0
0
0
2
Bombing '
0
0
0
0
47
Armed attack
2
0
0
0
7
Hijacking 2
1
4
0
0
21
Assassination
5
1
0
0
14
Sabotage
Subtotal
Bombing (minor)
2
3
0
0
44
Threat
3
4
0
0
29
Theft, break-in
2
1
0
0
6
Hoax
6
4
1
0
51
Other 4
6
1
0
0
27
Subtotal
19
13
1
0
157
? In Guatemala there were 14 attacks,
including five kidnapings and the murder
of three US citizens.
? In Costa Rica, a bomb destroyed a van
carrying Marine guards to the US Embas-
sy, injuring three guards and their driver.
? In Colombia, the M-19 carried out eight
attacks on Americans during the year,
including the murder of a kidnaped
missionary.
? In Peru, the US Chancery and the Am-
bassador's residence were bombed on
31 August.
A total of 30 attacks were directed against
US personnel and property in West Ger-
many during 1981-more than in any oth-
er year. They were carried out by RAF
members or sympathizers, and included an
attempt to assassinate General Kroesen as
well as numerous bombings of US facili-
ties. The last bombing of the year, on 31
August at Ramstein AFB, damaged the
headquarters building and injured 18 peo-
ple, including a US brigadier general.
The Broader Picture
Since we began recording international
terrorist incidents in 1968, a number of
broad patterns have emerged. Some are
relatively unchanging, such as the distribu-
tion of terrorist incidents-where Western
Europe, Latin America, and the Middle
East continue to account for about three-
fourths of all incidents (figure 4). Almost
half the incidents recorded since 1968
have occurred in only nine countries. The
greatest number were recorded in the Unit-
ed States (partly because information is
better) ; other nations with a large number
of incidents include Argentina, Italy,
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Figure 3
International Terrorist Attacks on US Personnel and Facilities, 1981
Number of Incidents
Location of Event
Pacific
Mideast and North
Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Asia
North America
Western Europe
Latin America
Type of Attack
Barricade-Hostage
Armed Attack
Sniping
Kidnaping
Assassination
Hijacking
Threat, Hoax
Bombing
11
0 50 100
B
0 50 100
Type of Victim
Other US
Governmenta
Tourists,
Missionaries
0 50 100 150
Nationality of Terrorists
Italian F
Peruvian
Palestinian
Turkish
Guatemalan
Colombian
Salvadoran
West German
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The Iraqi Embassy in Beirut was destroyed
by a car bomb on 15 December 1981.
France, West Germany, Iran, Turkey,
Greece, and Israel. These are convenient
locations for terrorist operations, and in
many cases the incident did not even
involve citizens of the country in which the
event occurred. Fewer than 20 percent of
the events in France involved French ter-
rorists, for example, and an even smaller
portion involved French nationals as
victims.
Over the past 14 years more than 20
percent of all international terrorist inci-
dents occurred in Latin America, and the
number in that region has been increasing
faster than in other parts of the world.
More attacks were recorded in 1980-81
than in any other two-year period since
1968, primarily reflecting the spillover of
increased domestic violence into the inter-
national arena. In most cases the attacks
were carried out by indigenous groups
against foreigners in an attempt to discred-
it or undermine the local regime. In some
cases the attacks were by rightwing
groups against foreigners who were
thought to sympathize with antigovern-
ment forces.
From 1968 through 1981, we recorded
1,512 international terrorist incidents in the
Middle East and North Africa. The number
of attacks in the region was highest in
1978 (reflecting increased anti-American
activity in Iran), remained high in 1979 and
1980, and declined somewhat in 1981. As
in Latin America, much of the international
terrorism is a spillover from domestic vio-
lence. Iran in 1978 is a good example.
Most of the attacks in the region were
carried out by Middle Eastern terrorists,
and about half were directed at other
Middle Eastern citizens. Responsibility was
claimed by 151 different terrorist groups-
mostly Palestinian.'
While citizens of almost every country have
been victimized by international terrorism,
most incidents have been directed against
those of only a few countries (figure 5).
Our records show that between 1968 and
1981, citizens of 131 different countries
were victimized by international terrorism;
attacks against US, Israeli, UK, West Ger-
man, French, and USSR nationals account
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Figure 4
Geographic Distribution of International
Terrorist Attacks, 1968-81
Western Europe
2,452
milaaie east anu
North Africa
for more than 60 percent of all the inci-
dents. Americans were by far the most
often targeted.' Of the 7,425 attacks re-
corded, 38 percent were directed against
American citizens. This reflects the wide
geographic spread of American interests
and the fact that US citizens are regarded
as symbols of Western wealth and power.
Each year, between 35 and 45 percent of
all the international terrorist incidents are
directed against US personnel or property.
The second-highest number of incidents
against any single country has consistently
been far less-about 10 percent of the
total. Usually either Israel or the UK has
been the second most victimized country.
In 1979, however, it was France and in
1980, the USSR.
Diplomats have been the foremost target
of terrorist incidents, accounting for nearly
40 percent of the total (figure 6). Busi-
nesses and businessmen are the second
2 The proportions are skewed by the fact that we have
much better information on incidents that involve the
United States.
most frequent victims of terrorist incidents.
During the 14 years, almost one-fourth of
the incidents were directed against busi-
ness, especially American business in Lat-
in America. The number reached a high in
1978 and declined thereafter-in part be-
cause of increased security, improved op-
erating procedures in high risk areas, and,
most importantly, a shift in focus by many
terrorist groups.
Although military personnel are not as
large a segment of the victim population as
diplomats or businessmen, we have re-
corded 600 terrorist attacks (fewer than
10 percent of the total) against them. The
number of attacks against the military is
increasing at the greatest rate.
The pattern of terrorist events that pro-
duce casualties appears to be changing. In
1,614 such incidents (figure 7), 3,841
people were killed and 8,298 wounded.
Bombings and assassinations account for
more than 70 percent of the attacks that
produced casualties. Bombings have al-
ways been the most prevalent, perhaps the
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Figure 5
Nationality of Victims of International Terrorist Attacks, 1968-81
Oceania
Sub-Saharan Africa
Transregional
Asia
USSR/Eastern
Europe
Latin America
Middle East and
North Africa
Western Europe
most serious being the 15 December 1981
bombing of the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut,
which killed at least 55 and injured another
100.
For the last two years, Incidents In-
volving hostage-seizures have been
more successfully countered as gov-
ernments became better trained and
equipped to deal with the situation.
Our records show that hostages were
successfully rescued by forces from
Britain, the Philippines, Turkey, Italy,
Cuba, and Mexico in 1980; and from
Indonesia, Bolivia, France, Pakistan,
Poland, Sweden, Spain, and the Neth-
erlands in 1981.
In recent years, however, assassination
attempts have increased dramatically, es-
pecially from 1977 to 1980.
1977 34
1978 54
1979 65
1980 111
1981 70
This increase is attributable to the fact that
several countries-Libya, Syria, and Iran
among them-have increasingly used their
military and intelligence services to carry
out terrorist attacks against foreign diplo-
mats or their own exiles.
US citizens have been the victims of only
20 percent of all attacks that produced
casualties, while suffering more than 40
percent of all international terrorist inci-
dents. US businessmen have been the
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Figure 6 Figure 7
Type of Victim of International Terrorist International Terrorist Incidents That
Attacks, 1968-81 Caused Casualties
Government Officials i 200
259
Mil
Pri,
(Tol
mis
1 1
1968 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81
primary target of casualty-producing at-
tacks, but attacks on US diplomats and
military personnel have increased at a fast-
er rate in recent years.
Over the period 1968-81, attacks on
Americans that produced casualties oc-
curred in 69 countries, most frequently in
Argentina, Iran, and the Philippines. More
than 155 terrorist groups claimed responsi-
bility for one or more attacks. The Argen-
tine Montoneros and Iranian and Palestin-
ian groups have been the most prominent
perpetrators.
This year, for the first time, we have
grouped terrorist incidents into more seri-
ous and less serious categories. As shown
in figure 8, the number of serious inci-
dents-such as kidnapings, the taking of
hostages, assassination attacks, and ma-
jor bombings-rose rapidly in the early
1970s, remained fairly steady between
1974 and 1979, then jumped to new highs
in 1980-81. Less serious incidents have
fluctuated more widely. The peak year for
relatively minor incidents, 1978, saw a
drop in serious incidents. Minor bombings
and threats account for more than 80
percent of the less serious incidents.
The trend of serious international terrorist
incidents involving US citizens or property
has shown little variation (figure 9). It
peaked in 1975, declined thereafter, only
to rise somewhat in the past two years.
Less serious incidents account for most of
the year-to-year variation in total incidents
involving the United States.
Terrorist Groups
More than 670 groups have claimed credit
for at least one international attack since
we began keeping statistics in 1968. This
number is undoubtedly inflated: some of
these are cover names for organizations
wishing to deny responsibility for a particu-
lar action, and some have probably been
used by common criminals to throw off
investigators or by psychotics seeking
public recognition. The list includes the
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Figure 8 Figure 9
International Terrorist Attacks on US
International Terrorist Incidents, 1968-81 Personnel and Facilities, 1968-81
names of nations that conduct internation-
al terrorism such as Libya and Syria, insur-
gency groups that use terrorist tactics,
separatist groups such as the ETA, and
nihilist groups such as the Red Army Fac-
tion and the Japanese Red Army. It in-
cludes leftwing groups, rightwing groups,
anti-American groups, anti-Soviet groups,
environmentalist groups, and even reli-
gious groups. They represent the spectrum
of ideologies, classes, cultures, and races.
The annual number of groups that claim
credit for attacks has increased markedly
since we began keeping statistics. For
example, 49 groups claimed credit for at-
tacks in 1970, rising to 111 groups by
1975, and to 128 groups by 1980. It
dropped slightly to 113 in 1981.
While some terrorist groups have dropped
out during the 14-year period, a large
number have persisted. These groups are
well organized, with a dedicated core of
well-trained and highly motivated terror-
ists. Moreover, they usually have at least
some popular support. Although the Provi-
sional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is
primarily a domestic terrorist group that
conducts operations in Northern Ireland,
our records show that the PIRA and its
sympathizers have conducted more inter-
national terrorism than any other group.
The PIRA has launched attacks from sev-
eral countries, and the attacks have in-
volved citizens from at least 15 countries,
although the majority were against British
nationals.
Black September has carried out the sec-
ond-largest number of attacks, most of
them in Europe and the Middle East, tar-
geted against Israelis and moderate Pales-
tinians. Other Palestinian groups-particu-
larly the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP), the PFLP-General
Command, and Black June-have con-
ducted terrorist incidents during the past
14 years. Together, the Palestinian groups
perpetrated more international attacks
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International Terrorist Attacks on
US Citizens and Property,
1968-81, by Category
Type of Event
1968
1969
1970
Kidnaping
1
3
25
19
5
22
14
23
Barricade-hostage
1
0
4
0
1
3
2
1
Bombing'
13
31
29
37
44
28
80
71
Armed attack
1
4
3
5
10
8
6
7
Hijacking 2
1
5
12
4
4
0
1
2
Assassination'
3
3
10
2
4
4
2
8
Sabotage
0
0
0
3
3
1
0
1
Subtotal
20
46
83
70
71
66
105
113
Bombing (minor)
36
62
106
105
100
79
79
41
Threat
11
12
51
51
71
77
19
19
Theft, break-in
0
3
15
8
1
3
4
3
Hoax
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Other4
4
1
10
9
12
11
9
5
Subtotal
51
78
183
173
184
170
111
68
' Bombings where damage or casualties occurred, or where a
group claimed responsibility.
2 Hijackings of air, sea, or land transport.
Includes assassination or attempt to assassinate where the victim
was preselected by name.
4 Includes conspiracy, and other actions such as sniping, shootout
with police, and arms smuggling.
than any other movement. Our records
show 9 percent of all terrorist attacks,
almost 700 attacks, have been carried out
by Palestinians.
Other significant groups that have been
active in international terrorism are the
Montoneros, the Armenian Secret Army
for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA),
the Basque Fatherland and Liberty, the
April 19th Movement, and the Red Army
Faction. Among the states most active in
carrying out international terrorist attacks
are Libya, Iran, Syria, and Iraq.
Activities of Significant Groups in 1981
We recorded 113 terrorist groups that
claimed credit for international attacks dur-
ing 1981. The terrorists represented 86
nationalities, and, as in the past, Palestin-
ians, Armenians, Germans, Salvadorans,
and Guatemalans carried out the most
attacks. The following describes the do-
mestic and international activities in 1981
of the major international terrorist groups.
Armenian Secret Army for the Libera-
tion of Armenia. ASALA carried out more
international attacks during 1981 than any
other terrorist organization. Its primary tar-
gets in the past have been Turkish diplo-
mats and diplomatic facilities, but, under
cover names, ASALA has attacked Swiss
interests in retaliation for the arrest of
ASALA members, and, using the name
Orly Organization, it has attacked French
interests in retaliation for the November
arrest of an Armenian carrying a false
passport at Orly Airport. ASALA carried
out 40 attacks in 11 countries during the
year. Although most of the attacks were
bombings against French and Swiss prop-
erty, the most serious were attacks against
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Kidnaping
8
7
8
8
10
9
162
Barricade-hostage
2
3
0
6
7
2
32
Bombing '
54
63
42
35
39
47
613
Armed attack
8
5
12
10
11
7
97
Hijacking 2
5
4
3
15
20
21
97
Assassination
15
6
7
10
18
14
106
Sabotage
1
0
0
1
0
1
11
Subtotal
93
88
72
85
105
101
1,118
71
72
133
91
58
44
1,077
53
22
161
47
50
29
673
Theft, break-in
1
0
7
4
13
6
68
Hoax
0
0
0
1
25
51
78
Other4
13
13
23
28
27
27
192
Subtotal
138
107
324
171
173
157
2,088
Turkish diplomats. These included the 24
September seizure of the Turkish Consul-
ate in Paris and the assassination of Turk-
ish diplomats in Switzerland, Denmark,
and France.
Palestinian Terrorists. Palestinian terror-
ists have not been as active in international
terrorism in recent years as during the mid-
1970s. In 1981, some radical Palestinian
groups resumed international terrorist at-
tacks. Palestinian terrorists carried out a
total of 49 attacks during 1981; groups
such as the 15 May Organization, Black
June, and the PFLP-SC were the most
active. This is far more than recorded in
1979 or 1980 but about the same as
during the mid-1970s. The attacks were
committed in 14 countries. Most of the
incidents were bombings, six were assassi-
nation attempts, five were armed attacks,
and one was a rocket attack.
The 15 May Organization and the PFLP-
SC were active in 1981. The former carried
out attacks against Israeli targets in Eu-
rope, including bomb attacks on the em-
bassies in Vienna and Athens and on El Al
offices in Italy and Turkey. It also claimed
credit for the bombing of a Cypriot cruise
ship in Haifa, Israel. The PFLP-SC carried
out a series of bombings in the Middle East
and is believed responsible for the 20
October bombing of a synagogue in
Belgium.
The Black June Organization (BJO), a
radical Palestinian group which opposes
political settlement with Israel and Arafat's
moderate policies, was also very active
during 1981. It targeted moderate Pales-
tinians, Israelis, and non-Israeli Jews. On
23 September, BJO launched a hand gre-
nade attack on the offices of an Israeli
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Armenian terrorist holding an employee of
the Turkish Consulate in Paris.
shipping line in Cyprus. Black June killed
moderate Palestinian leaders on 1 June in
Brussels and on 9 October in Rome. (This
is the group that attempted to assassinate
the Israeli Ambassador in London on 3
June 1982, an incident that preceded the
Israeli invasion of Lebanon.)
Provisional Irish Republican Army. The
PIRA was more active in 1981 than in most
previous years. It retaliated for the at-
tempted assassination of Bernadette
Devlin McAliskey with the murder of Sir
Norman Stronge and his son.
PIRA expanded the tactic of prisoner hun-
ger strikes. After a 66-day fast, Bobby
Sands died on 5 May. He was the first and
most widely publicized PIRA militant to die
in 1981. Nine other PIRA and Irish National
Liberation Army members died in vain
attempts to gain prisoner-of-war status for
the terrorist inmates. After the failure of the
hunger strikes, the PIRA intensified its
campaign of violence in England. In Octo-
ber and November it claimed credit for
bombing facilities in London, mailed sever-
al bombs to British facilities, kidnaped the
son of a wealthy Irish businessman, and
attempted to assassinate the Commanding
General of the British Royal Marines. PIRA
sympathizers destroyed British cars in
West Germany, bombed a British cultural
center in Greece, attacked British targets
in Portugal, and threatened British facilities
in Switzerland.
Red Army Faction. The Red Army Faction
in 1981 launched a series of attacks
against the US presence in West Germany
despite a series of setbacks in 1980. The
RAF had been rebuilding its operational
structure for some time, and in an attempt
to capitalize on the controversy over
NATO nuclear weapons modernization
plans and "squatters' rights" in West Ber-
lin, the RAF and its sympathizer groups
carried out numerous attacks during 1981.
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Jewish synagogue in Belgium after bomb-
ing by Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine/Special Command.
The RAF or its supporters claimed credit
for numerous attacks during the year. It
firebombed US military facilities in Frank-
furt and Wiesbaden. It attempted to bomb
the US library in West Berlin and the Dow
chemical plant in Dusseldorf. On 31 Au-
gust the RAF exploded a car bomb at the
US Air Force Headquarters at Ramstein. It
attempted to assassinate US Gen.
Frederick Kroesen on 15 September, firing
two rocket-propelled antitank weapons at
Kroesen's car; one missed, and the other
hit the trunk. The car was severely dam-
aged, but no one was seriously injured.
Sympathizer groups also attacked West
German and US targets in Germany and
other European countries. The Black Block
bombed two US military facilities near
Frankfurt and attempted to bomb the rail-
road line to the Rhein/Main airbase. Oth-
ers bombed the US Consul General's of-
fice and a military base near Frankfurt and
US military facilities in Kassal, Wiesbaden,
and West Berlin. They also attacked a
West German consulate in Switzerland and
the US Embassy in Sofia.
Red Brigades. Despite some setbacks
early in the year, the Red Brigades broad-
ened their targets to include foreign nation-
als in 1981. The confessions of Patrizio
Peci, the arrest of RB planner Mario
Moretti, and increased government antiter-
rorist activity contributed to pressure on
the Brigades.
The Red Brigades claimed credit for nu-
merous attacks during the past year-the
assassination of a hospital director in Mi-
lan, a prison warden in Rome, and four
police officials. The Brigades kidnaped
three individuals, murdering one and re-
leasing the other two after holding them for
lengthy periods. In retaliation for Peci's
testimony, the Brigades kidnaped and
killed his brother and shot one of his
defense attorneys. During the year, the
Brigades also wounded 12 victims,
bombed four facilities, and robbed a bank
in Rome.
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During 1981 the Provisional Irish Republican
Army continued its tactic of prisoner hunger
strikes.
On 17 December, the Brigades kidnaped
US Army Brig. Gen. James Dozier from his
home in Verona, Italy. Italian authorities
subsequently arrested more than 300 sus-
pects and uncovered large amounts of
weapons and supplies in the search for
Dozier and subsequent counterterrorist op-
erations. On 28 January 1982, Italian offi-
cers rescued Dozier from a safehouse in
Padua.
Basque Fatherland and Liberty. In
Spain, the ETA-PM and the ETA-M, both
Marxist-Leninist-oriented Basque separat-
ist organizations, continued their campaign
of violence against the Spanish Govern-
ment. They also targeted citizens from six
other countries in Spain, including threats
to bomb the US airbase near Torrejon.
Early in January the government granted
greater autonomy for the Basque region in
an attempt to decrease tension, but this
did not stop the terrorists; they claimed
credit for many attacks during the next few
months. Near the end of January the ter-
rorists fired antitank weapons at govern-
ment buildings in two Basque cities, kid-
naped a prominent citizen in Bilbao, and
kidnaped and murdered the chief nuclear
engineer at the Lemoniz power plant in
northern Spain. During the same month,
the Spanish police freed unharmed a
prominent doctor who had been kidnaped
in Madrid and was being held in northeast
Spain by ETA-PM for a US $2 million
ransom.
On 20 February, in a coordinated opera-
tion, the ETA kidnaped the honorary con-
suls to Spain from Austria, El Salvador,
and Uruguay. The consuls were held for a
week, and the attack received widespread
publicity.
On 23 February the ETA-PM announced
its intention to abandon terrorism. Shortly
thereafter the ETA-M increased its terrorist
campaign. In February and March it
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bombed facilities, attacked police patrols,
and assassinated prominent members of
the Spanish Government. A few months
later the ETA-M carried out another series
of attacks, which included assaults on po-
lice and Civil Guard facilities and bombings
of the Spanish electric company.
April 19th Movement. The Colombian
April 19th Movement (M-19) carried out
11 international terrorist operations in
1981, including bombings, hijackings, and
one kidnaping. All of the incidents oc-
curred in Colombia and almost all were
targeted against the United States. A fac-
tion of the group kidnaped a US citizen,
and after weeks of negotiations and
threats his body was found in an aban-
doned bus in Bogota.
The M-19 attempted large-scale military
operations on 8 and 11 March, launching
amphibious attacks on three remote vil-
lages in southern Colombia. Government
forces killed or captured most of the terror-
ists. M-19 suffered another major setback
when a truckload of sophisticated weap-
ons, including rocket grenades and ma-
chineguns, was captured by the Colombi-
an border guard.
Marxist-Leninist Armed Propaganda
Unit. In Turkey the Marxist-Leninist Armed
Propaganda Unit (MLAPU), a faction of
the Turkish People's Liberation Party/
Front, the most anti-US of all the leftist
groups in Turkey, was responsible for the
deaths of seven Americans in 1979 and
one in 1980. MLAPU killed no Americans
in 1981 and met with very little success in
other terrorist attacks during the year.
Since imposition of martial law in Septem-
ber 1980, the Turkish military government
has killed or arrested a number of MLAPU
members, raided safehouses, and execut-
ed convicted MLAPU members already in
captivity. Although the group suffered set-
backs during the year, it was able to
conduct some terrorist operations, both
against the US presence in Turkey and
against the Turkish Government. On 22
January the MLAPU attempted to assassi-
nate two US soldiers as they walked to a
bus stop. On 6 April, the MLAPU claimed
credit for an attack on a US military vehi-
cle. Although the vehicle was hit by ma-
chinegun fire a number of times, no one
was seriously injured. The terrorists who
carried out this attack were arrested in a
raid on a safehouse the following day.
Special Cases-Guatemala and El
Salvador. In Guatemala and El Salvador
prolonged domestic strife has created fer-
tile soil for terrorism, both domestic and
international. Terrorism is a major tactic of
both leftwing and rightwing groups in El
Salvador. Of the five leftwing groups form-
ing the Farabundo Marti National Libera-
tion Front (FMLN), the Popular Liberation
Forces (FPL) is the strongest and largest.
Groups operating under the rubric FMLN
or FPL claimed responsibility for most of
the attacks in 1981, including 18 attacks
on US personnel or facilities and 10 at-
tacks on the embassies or private facilities
of other Central American countries.
Among the incidents involving Americans
was a series of attacks on the US Embassy
during March and April. Other attacks on
Americans in El Salvador included the
bombing of the Exxon compound, a Har-
dees restaurant, and the Citibank facilities.
Rightwing terrorists were also active in El
Salvador, with most attacks directed
against other Salvadoran citizens. On
3 January the head of the agrarian reform
program and two American advisers were
assassinated by three terrorists while at a
dinner meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in
San Salvador. Two men arrested in con-
nection with this case have ties with ex-
treme rightwing groups opposed to Salva-
doran land reform.
In Guatemala terrorism figured as a major
tactic of the right, the left, and the Guate-
malan Government. Our files contain re-
cords of 27 international terrorist attacks in
1981. These included bombings, kidnap-
ings, and four assassination attempts.
While most of the international attacks
were carried out by leftwing groups such
as the Guerrilla Army of the Poor, two
Americans were assassinated by rightwing
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groups. Thirteen of the attacks were di-
rected at American personnel and proper-
ty. Other victims of international terrorism
in Guatemala included citizens of Japan,
Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Spain, and Honduras.
Among the most noteworthy assassina-
tions were two US missionaries working in
Guatemala and a US businessman, who
had been kidnaped in December 1980 by
leftwing guerrillas, during an attempted
rescue by the Guatemalan police. Numer-
ous bombings of foreign facilities were
recorded, including the Pan American
headquarters, the Honduran airline office,
the American Chamber of Commerce of-
fice, an Eastern Airlines plane on the
ground, the Chevron oil depot in Guatema-
la City, the British Consul's office, and a
US-owned hotel. Other incidents included
the murders of an Italian and a Spanish
priest working in the area and the kidnap-
ing of an Australian and an American for
ransom.
State-Sponsored International
Terrorism
Nations support international terrorist
groups or engage in terrorist attacks to
influence policies of other countries, to
establish or strengthen regional or global
influence, and, in some cases, to eliminate
or terrorize dissident exiles and nationals
from adversary countries.
In 1980 and 1981 a large number of
international terrorist attacks, mostly
assassinations, were carried out by
governments. These attacks proved to
be an efficient method of achieving a
limited goal with very little
repercussion.
Our records list 129 terrorist attacks con-
ducted directly by national governments,
but this figure almost certainly understates
the incidence of state-sponsored terrorism.
More than 80 percent of the 129 attacks
took place in 1980 and 1981, and almost
40 percent were assassinations or at-
tempted assassinations. This is roughly six
times the percentage of assassinations re-
corded in non-state-sponsored terrorist at-
tacks. State-sponsored attacks were more
lethal than other terrorist incidents, 44
percent resulting in casualties-a total of
60 persons injured and 61 killed. A major-
ity of these attacks occurred in the Middle
East, were carried out by Middle East
nations, and were directed against expatri-
ates and diplomats from Middle East
countries.
The pattern of state-sponsored interna-
tional terrorist incidents in 1981 was similar
to that of 1980. The 44 attacks occurred in
20 different countries, but almost half were
in Lebanon. The attacks were directed
against citizens from 17 countries, half of
them from the Middle East. Incidents in-
cluded kidnapings, bombings, assassina-
tions, and armed attacks against embas-
sies or other facilities. During 1981, 21
victims were killed and 28 wounded in
state-sponsored international terrorist
attacks.
Soviet Union. The Soviets provide train-
ing, arms, and other direct and indirect
support to a variety of national insurgent
and separatist groups. Many of these
groups commit international terrorist at-
tacks as part of their program of revolu-
tionary violence. Moreover, some of the
individuals trained and equipped by the
Soviets make their way into strictly terrorist
groups with little revolutionary potential.
Many countries are reluctant to condemn
states that support or engage in interna-
tional terrorist activities when those activi-
ties are cloaked in the mantle of anti-
imperialism. Other countries tolerate
state-sponsored terrorist activities be-
cause they fear economic or other forms of
retaliation by the sponsoring states.
Moscow maintains close relations with and
furnishes aid to governments and organi-
zations that directly support terrorist
groups. In the Middle East, for example,
the Soviets sell large quantities of arms to
Libya. The Soviets also back a number of
Palestinian groups that openly conduct
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terrorist operations. In Latin America the
USSR and Cuba appear to be pursuing a
long-term coordinated campaign to estab-
lish sympathetic Latin American regimes.
The Cubans, and more recently the Sovi-
ets, clearly support organizations and
groups in Latin America that use terrorism
as a basic technique to undermine existing
regimes. In other parts of the world, espe-
cially Africa, the Soviets have supported
guerrilla movements and national liberation
organizations that engage in terrorism.
Libya. Support of terrorist groups has
been an element of Libya's foreign policy
under Qadhafi since the mid-1970s.
Qadhafi has been linked by overwhelming
evidence to terrorist attacks and assassi-
nations in Western Europe, the United
States, and the Middle East and is known
to support terrorist groups and liberation
movements worldwide. After the Gulf of
Sidra incident, Qadhafi threatened to as-
sassinate President Reagan and other sen-
ior US Government officials. The 1981
records contain information on 13 attacks
by Libyan assassination squads.
South Yemen. The Government of the
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen
has supported international terrorism since
the late 1960s. It provides camps and
other training facilities for a number of
leftist terrorist groups.
The Government of South Yemen has not
participated directly in international terror-
ist attacks, however, and South Yemeni
citizens have been involved in only six
incidents during the 14-year period.
Syria. As a major supporter of radical
Palestinian groups, Syria has provided
training, logistic support, and use of diplo-
matic facilities to groups that are willing to
do its bidding. Syria supports Palestinian
elements that engage in international ter-
rorism, including the Black June Organiza-
tion, which targets moderate Palestinian
leaders as well as Israeli interests.
Iraq. During the past three years, the Iraqi
Government has reduced support to non-
Palestinian terrorists and placed restric-
tions on many Palestinian groups, moving
closer to its moderate Arab neighbors.
Iran. Despite its radical, anti-Western poli-
cies, its support for Islamic fundamental-
ists, and widespread government terrorism
within Iran, the Khomeini regime provides
only limited support to international terror-
ist groups. Our records list 24 international
terrorist attacks carried out directly by the
Iranian Government in 1980 and five in
1981. All of the attacks in 1981 occurred
in Beirut and were directed primarily
against Iraqi diplomats. Most Iranian-
sponsored attacks on Iraqi targets in Leb-
anon not undertaken by the Iranian Gov-
ernment were carried out by Lebanese
Shiite militia members.
Cuba. Havana openly supports and advo-
cates armed revolution as the only means
for leftist forces to gain power in Latin
America. Cuba also supports organiza-
tions and groups in Latin America that use
terrorism to undermine existing regimes.
The Cubans have played an important role
in facilitating the movement of men and
weapons into Central and South America,
providing direct support in the form of
training, arms, safe havens, and advice to
a wide variety of guerrilla groups.
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Kidnaping
Seizure of one or more victims, who are
then moved to a hideout.
Barricade-hostage
Seizure of a facility with whatever hostages
are available; their release is made contin-
gent on meeting terrorists' demands.
Bombing
Major bombing-use of any type of explo-
sive or incendiary device for terrorist pur-
poses, including those delivered through
the mail, when significant damage or casu-
alties occur or a terrorist group claims
responsibility.
Minor bombing-same as above except
that there are no casualties and little or no
damage, and no group claims
responsibility.
Armed attack
An attempt to seize or damage a facility,
with no intent to hold it for negotiating
purposes.
Hijacking
An attempt to seize an airplane, ship, or
other vehicle, with whatever hostages may
be in it, to force some action-movement
to another country and/or agreement by
the authorities involved to some terrorist
demand.
Assassination
An attempt, whether or not successful, to
kill a preselected victim, usually with small
arms or bombs. Letter bombs are exclud-
ed from this category, although, in at least
some cases, there probably is a specific
intended victim.
Sabotage
Intentional destruction of property by
means other than bombing.
Exotic pollution
Use of exotic substances-atomic, chemi-
cal, or biological-to contaminate materi-
al; for example, the introduction of mercu-
ry into oranges shipped from Israel.
Threat/hoax
The stated intent by a terrorist group to
carry out an attack, or a false alert to
authorities about a coming terrorist attack
by a named group.
These incidents serve terrorists' purposes
in that they tend to alarm and intimidate
potential victims, their parent states and
organizations, and often the local popu-
lace. They usually cause facilities to be
evacuated, absorb the time of investigative
authorities, and generally disrupt the work
of the threatened group.
Well over half the recorded threats and
hoaxes are directed against US citizens-
673 out of a total of 1,081 threats and 78
out of 143 hoaxes. This is at least partially
attributable to the fact that we have much
more information about such incidents
than we do about threats or hoaxes direct-
ed against other nations' citizens. More-
over, much of the information we have on
such incidents directed against foreigners
is derived from their reports to US authori-
ties about such attacks in the United
States-frequently at the UN.
Theft, break-in
Illegal entry into a facility to intimidate or
harass its owners.
Other
Includes sniping, shootouts with police,
arms smuggling, and credible reports of
plotting a terrorist attack that is subse-
quently foiled or aborted. In all cases a
terrorist group is named.
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Office for Combatting Terrorism
Department of State
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