List of military strikes against presumed terrorist targets

This article documents military strikes by governments against presumed terrorist targets outside war zones. For an event to qualify, it must involve military weapons and the target must be thought by the government ordering the strike to be of terrorist nature. The most recent events appear first.

1998

Sudan and Afghanistan cruise missile strikes

On August 20, 1998, President Clinton ordered strikes against two suspected Afghan terrorist training camps and the Sudanese Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory. President Clinton cited terrorist attacks against U.S. Embassies in Africa as the reason for ordering the missions.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

2002

Yemen drone strike

On November 3, 2002, a RQ-1 Predator fired a Hellfire missile at a car in Yemen. Al Qaeda leader Qaed Senyan Abu Ali al-Harithi was the target and is believed to have been killed according to U.S. official. The attack also killed five other men including an American citizen suspected of belonging to Al Qaeda.

2008

Abu Kamal raid

The Abu Kamal^[6] raid took place in Syria on 26 October 2008 and was performed by United States helicopters and troops. Unnamed spokesmen for the USA claim that high ranking terrorist Abu Ghadiyah was killed. He was targeted for allegedly smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq as part of an attack and for killing 11 Iraqi policeman in the spring. The Syrian Government claims eight unarmed civilians were killed.

Kurvek airstrike

The Kurvek^[7] airstrike on 5 September 2008 killed at least five people in Pakistan's border region, Pakistani officials say. The third attack in three days allegedly carried out by US forces.

Dhusamareb airstrike

The Dhusamareb airstrike took place on 1 May 2008 when either several US aircraft or a ship offshore launched a missile attack against a target in the Dhuusamarreeb region in central Somalia. The attack was targeted against the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab. Eleven people were killed in the strike, among them two leading militants and five civilians. Four others were injured.

Damadola airstrike

17 people were killed in a RQ-1 Predator airstrike on Damadola (Pakistan), near the Afghan border. The CIA operation was targeting Al Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahri who was initially reported killed in the attack. According to U.S. counterterrorism officials who spoke to NBC News, the attack was conducted by three drones simultaneously attacking three targets. DNA testing could find no evidence of terrorists among the dead.

2009

Sudan airstrikes

In January and February 2009, there was a series of two air strikes in Sudan and one in the Red Sea, allegedly conducted by Israel against Iranian arms being smuggled to the Gaza Strip through Sudan. The Israeli government hinted that Israeli forces were involved in the incident.

2011

December 2011 IAF Airstrike In Sudan

In the first attacks in 8 months, Israeli jets bomb a convey of vehicles near the Sudan-Egypt border. The likely targets were Hamas members. Several reported dead.

Assassination of Anwar Al-Awlaki

On September 30, 2011, the CIA assassinated an American citizen in Southern Yemen. An American drone operated by the Joint Special Operations Command, under the authority of the CIA fired two Hellfire missiles at a group of vehicles. Two Americans, including Awlaki were killed, despite the fact that neither of them were charged in the US. Al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen born in Denver, was killed two weeks later by a CIA-led drone strike in Yemen.

Airstrike in Somalia

In Late June 2011, an American helicopter fires on a convoy carrying suspected militants in Southern Somalia. Several foreign fighters were reported dead.

Port Sudan airstrike

On 5 April 2011 at 22:00 a car driving from Port Sudan Airport to Port Sudan was destroyed by a missile. Both passengers were killed and one of the passengers may have been a senior military commander of the Palestinian Hamas. According to the Sudanese Foreign Minister it was an Israeli attack.

According to Israel Radio the unidentified Palestinian was the head of Hamas weapons acquisition. It is not clear how the attack was carried out. Reports of Apache-helicopters, a missile fired from a ship or from an aircraft are made with regard to the execution of the attack. The attack may have been carried out by multiple aircraft (attack and tanker aircraft) operating from Israel.

Sources:

• The drone, the CIA and a botched attempt to kill bin Laden's deputy Guardian.co.uk January 15, 2006
• Pakistan summons US envoy over raid Pakistanis protest against US strike Al Jazeera January 15, 2006
• Anatomy of the airstrike in Pakistan MSNBC January 17, 2006

Sources:

• US defends Yemen strike BBC News 10 November 2002
• Yemen drone strike: just the start? Jane's 8 November 2002
• U.S. Citizen Among Those Killed In Yemen Predator Missile Strike. The Tech November 8, 2002
• U.S. missile strike kills al Qaeda chief CNN November 5, 2002
• Steve Scher on Weekday – February 23, 2007 KUOW-FM interviews James Bamford on the National Security Agency (Note: minutes 21–24 of 54 minute audio)

See also

• Targeted killing
• Drone attacks in Pakistan
• 1986 Bombing of Libya
• Ain es Saheb airstrike
• Operation Wooden Leg
• Operation Orchard (Israeli air-raid against alleged Syrian nuclear facility in 2007)

References