List of thwarted Islamist terrorist attacks

The "black flag of jihad" as used by jihadist militants since ca. the late 1990s.

This list is subject to the Verifiability policy and the reliable sources guideline. Please familiarize yourself with both before editing this list. In addition, note that a reliable source that states the attack plot was in progress with intent to commit violence and was Islamist in nature must be provided for any new entry. Unreferenced list items may be removed at any time.

Jihad Terror attacks by Islamist extremists to further a perceived Islamic religious or political cause have occurred globally. Many, many more such plots have been successfully stopped by police. The attackers have used such tactics as arson, vehicle rampage attacks, bomb threats, suicide attacks, bombings, spree shooting, stabbings, hijackings, kidnappings and beheadings. The following is a list of thwarted Islamist terrorist attacks that have received significant press coverage since 1980. See the companion article List of Islamist terrorist attacks for major incidents that did result in violence.

1990s

1993

• United States New York City landmark bomb plot

2000s

2001

• United States December 22, 2001 – Richard Reid, aka "Shoe Bomber", onboard Flight 63 from Paris to Miami, attempted to ignite explosives in his shoe. In court he pleaded guilty to eight charges of terrorism.^[1]

2003

• United States December 2003 Buffalo Six
• United States June 2003 Detroit Sleeper Cell

2004

• Mali January 10, 2004 – 2004 Dakar Rally – stages 10 and 11 of this famous annual race across the desert in Mali were canceled due to "security concerns". French secret agents foiled a bid by Islamic militants to kidnap contestants in the Paris-Dakar rally earlier this month as they raced across the Sahara desert state of Mali, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. French-backed operation had prevented leading French driver Stephane Peterhansel and Spanish motorcyclist Nani Roma from falling into the Islamists' hands.^[2]
• United States United Kingdom 2004 financial buildings plot

2005

• United States 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot
• Australia November 2005 – Five men were arrested on charges of planning a terrorist attack in Australia's largest city, Sydney after sourcing chemicals and materials for use in the preparation of an explosive device, attempted or possession of firearms and extremist material.^[3][4]
• Australia November 2005 – 17 people were arrested in Melbourne and Sydney after it was uncovered that they were planning to commit a series of terrorist attacks including evidence from court showing plans to bomb the 2005 AFL Grand Final, 2006 Australian Grand Prix and the Crown Casino, as well as a plot to assassinate then Prime Minister John Howard.^[5][6]

2006

• Canada 2006 Ontario terrorism plot

2007

• United States 2007 Fort Dix attack plot
• United States 2007 John F. Kennedy International Airport attack plot
• Netherlands December 31, 2007 – Three men arrested in Rotterdam on New Year's Eve following a tip off by the security services were planning a terrorist attack on the city's Erasmus bridge where 15,000 people were due to celebrate the New Year. Three men in their 30s, two with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality and one alleged to be an illegal immigrant from Sudan, were taken into police custody.^[7]

2009

• United States 2009 Bronx terrorism plot
• United States September 8, 2009 – 8 men affiliated with Al Queda are arrested for a plot to bomb the New York City subway system and other international targets. Police allege that they were transporting explosives and just mere days from executing their plot. Some were sentenced in Nov 2015 to over 40 years in prison for their role.^[8][9]
• Australia August 2009 – Four men connected to al-Shabaab, were arrested in August 2009 after it was uncovered that the men were planning to infiltrate the Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney with automatic weapons.^[10]
• United States December 25, 2009 – Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, aka "Underwear Bomber" boards at Amsterdam, onto Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route to Detroit on Christmas Day with 289 crew and passenger on board. He fails in an attempt to activate a high powered explosive sewn into his trousers. U.S. Federal court ruling is four consecutive life sentences plus 50 years.^[11]

2010s

2010

• United States March 26, 2010 – Raja Lahrasib Khan was arrested by the FBI while attempting to board a flight to England with a large amount of cash intended to fund an Al Queda plot to plant bombs at an unnamed American sports arena.^[12]
• Azerbaijan March 28, 2010 – Azerbaijan said on Monday it had detained eight people including a Chechen man on suspicion of planning "terrorist acts" against a school and kindergarten in the capital of the oil-producing Caucasus state, Baku. The group had earlier concealed weapons and ammunition in the roof of a kindergarten and a school in the capital Baku and planned to attack both.^[13]

2011

• Denmark January 2, 2011 – Swedish and Danish authorities arrested four suspected militant Islamic jihadists last week for allegedly planning a terrorist attack before this weekend. Their target was the Jyllands-Posten news bureau in Copenhagen. In 2006, the newspaper became the target of terrorist threats after it printed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. Authorities say the suspects arrested planned to use the same "swarm" tactics used in the 2008 Mumbai killing spree that left at least 160 people dead.^[14]
• Nigeria March 19, 2011 – A major tragedy was narrowly averted outside a church in Jos Nigeria, when two attackers from Boko Haram were killed when their bomb prematurely exploded. The bomb blast occurred outside the ECWA Church, Nasarawa Gwom in Jos, a city in Nigeria's Plateau state.^[15]
• United States 2011 Manhattan terrorism plot

2012

• Indonesia March 2, 2012 – An Indonesian court on Monday sentenced the Islamist mastermind behind a foiled Easter church attack and several attempted parcel bombings to 18 years in jail. He had plotted to set off a massive bomb beneath a gas pipeline near a church in Serpong outside Jakarta last Easter but police foiled the attack after finding the device.^[16]
• Indonesia March 21, 2012 – A foiled plot by suspected Islamic militants to attack and bomb targets in Bali, including a bar popular with tourists. Five men were shot dead in police raids on Sunday on the island where nightclub bombings in 2002 killed 202 people.^[17]
• Azerbaijan May 2012 – Azerbaijan says it has arrested 40 people suspected of having plotted a "terrorist" attack on last week's Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. The Azeri National Security Ministry says the plotters had planned to attack the event's venue – the Baku Crystal Hall – and several hotels on the eve of the competition.^[18]

2013

• Israel January 1, 2013 – A plot to kidnap an Israeli civilian or soldier, for use as a bargaining chip was foiled when Israel's General Security Service (GSS/Shin Bet) detained and then arrested an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell comprising an Israeli Arab citizen and two Palestinians at the Eyal checkpoint. Kidnapping accessories such as rope & tape, as well as a knife and an imitation handgun were found in their possession, and they confessed to multiple previous failed kidnapping attempts.^[19]
• Russia May 19, 2013 – Russia's counterterrorism agency said that its special forces killed two militants and detained a third believed to have been planning a terrorist act in Moscow. They were holed up in the Moscow suburb of Orekhovo-Zuevo and police ordered them to surrender, but instead the militants opened fire. The militants were Russian citizens who had received training along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.^[20]

2014

• Switzerland March 2014 – Swiss authorities have charged four Iraqi nationals with planning a terrorist attack in Europe on behalf of the Islamic State group. Though details of the planned attack were sketchy, Switzerland's attorney general confirmed on Friday that IS "was to claim responsibility (for) these plans if successful".^[21]
• United States March 16, 2014 – A California National Guardsman was captured Monday after an FBI investigation revealed a foiled plot to attack the Los Angeles Subway and plans to help al-Qaida, officials said. Ased Abdur-Raheem, was a recent convert to Islam.^[22]
• Pakistan September 6, 2014 – AQIS claimed responsibility for an attack on a Naval dockyard in Karachi, reportedly carried out by former Pakistan Navy officers, who unsuccessfully tried to hijack a F-22P frigate. Three attackers were killed and seven were arrested by Pakistani forces.^[23][24]
• Australia September 18, 2014 – In response to an alleged plot to behead a random individual of the public, large scale terror raids are conducted in Sydney and Brisbane and result in numerous arrests from 25 homes.^[4][25]
• France September 16–18, 2014 – Five Jihadists arrested in Lyon were planning to carry out a terrorist attack at a Jewish group's conference about anti-Semitism. They were planning to strike on Sep 18 at an event organized in Lyon by the regional branch of the CRIF umbrella of French Jewish communities and organizations.^[26]
• Peru October 29, 2014 – Peru Foils Hezbollah Terror Attack on Israelis. In a search of the terrorist's hideout apartment, police found weapons and explosives which he intended to use against Jews.^[27]
• France November 2, 2014 – Several terrorist plots against France have been foiled in recent months. the most developed plot and was designed to target the annual Nice Carnival. Police arrested a man in February on the French Riviera and found him to be in possession of the explosive TATP.^[28]

2015

• Philippines January 18, 2015 – FBI and Philippine special forces kill Zulkifli bin Hir after he had launched a plot to bomb the large Pope's mass in Rizal Park, which attracted a crowd of six million Christians. Hir was the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a south east Asian militant Islamist terrorist organization….^[29]
• Malaysia April 6, 2015 – 17 people were arrested for allegedly planning to commit a terrorist attack in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.^[30]
• Australia April 18, 2015 – Five teenagers who were arrested during counter-terror raids in Sydney were allegeldy planning an Islamic State-inspired attack during the ANZAC Day commemorations.^[31][32]
• United States May 3, 2015 – Curtis Culwell Center attack – two gunman, armed with assault rifles and declaring allegiance to Islamic State, attempt to storm a free speech cartoon event in Garland, Texas, but were shot dead at the entrance by armed guards. One guard was slightly wounded, otherwise this attack was thwarted and no major violence inflicted.^[33]
• Australia May 8, 2015 – A 17-year-old is arrested in Greenvale, Melbourne for plotting to detonate home-made bombs.^[34]
• United Kingdom May 28, 2015 – British couple arrested just days short of launching a major attack to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the London 7/7 bombings with intent to bomb a major mall or subway. Substantial quantities of chemicals and bomb-making wherewithal was found in their possession alleged in court proceedings.^[35]
• Tunisia July 10, 2015 – Second Tunisia terror attack foiled: Five ISIS extremists are shot dead in Islamic stronghold as thousands of British tourists are evacuated. Security forces tracked down eight ISIS suspects believed to be about to launch another bloodthirsty attack on tourists, with five of the militants killed near the town of El Ktar.^[36]
• France August 21, 20152015 Thalys train attack
• France November 2, 2015 – A Frenchman, after failing twice to travel to Syria to join ISIS, is arrested and charged for running a terror plot to attack military personnel at the main French naval base in Toulon.^[37]
• Spain November 3, 2015 – Spanish police arrested 3 Moroccans with strong ties to ISIS who were set to execute a "Charlie Hebdo" style attack in the Spanish capital of Madrid.^[38]
• France November 13, 2015 – A series of terrorist attacks in Paris kill 137, and wound 368. Portions of the master attacke were successfully thwarted. Security at the football stadium turned away one bomber with a suicide vest at the gate who had planned to go inside an trigger a mass panic rush towards his accomplices. Only one bystander died in this instance. Reports from both police and friends indicated that another accomplice Salah Abdeslam was supposed to launch an additional suicide bomber attack in the 18th arrondissement, but apparently he fled without attacking anyone.^[39]
• Canada November 14, 2015 – Canadian police shoot suspected suicide bomber after a stand-off unfolded between police officers in a Mississauga neighbourhood of Toronto. Bomb squad and heavily armed tactical teams deployed.^[40]
• Germany November 17, 2015 – German football match in Hanover was cancelled after French spies warned of 'five bomb plot' by five jihadists including a woman to carry out Paris-style attack on stadium1 killed 16 wounded. Several suspicious packages were found.^[41]
• Germany November 26, 2015 – German special forces unit arrested two men in a Berlin raid Thursday who are accused of plotting "a significant criminal act against state security," according to Berlin authorities. The two men were arrested in the Britz section of the German capital after a search was conducted on an Islamic cultural center, police said.^[42]
• Turkey December 15, 2015 – Turkish police have detained a Syrian Islamic State militant suspected of planning a suicide attack against the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul. The U.S. Consulate was closed down the prior week due to this threat.^[43]
• Italy December 15, 2015 – A Palestinian and a Tunisian national were arrested after they tried to disarm soldiers stationed outside the historic Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome while yelling "Allah (God) is great".^[44]
• Australia December 22, 2015 – Police in Australia arrest two individuals plotting to attack the naval base HMAS Kuttabul at Woolloomooloo.^[45]
• France December 22, 2015 – Police arrest two men for plotting terror attacks in Orleans, France. They were plotting to kill police and army personnel in the central French city.^[46]
• Turkey December 29, 2015 – Turkish police have arrested two suspected ISIS militants believed to be planning suicide attacks in the country's capital to coincide with New Year celebrations. Police seized suicide vests armed with bombs. Both men, are believed to have entered Turkey from Syria and were thought to have been preparing an attack on Kizilay Square in the center of the Ankara.

2016

• United States January 25, 2016 – 23-year-old Samy Mohamed Hamzeh was arrested January 25 after buying machine guns from undercover FBI agents. The man planned an attack on a Masonic temple in Milwaukee in the name of "defending Islam".^[47] Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad said that it was a "detailed plan to commit a mass shooting intended to kill dozens of people." Hamzeh said, "Such operations will increase in America, when they hear about it. The people will be scared and the operations will increase, and there will be problems all over,... this will lead to people clashing with each other. This way we will be igniting it. I mean we are marching at the front of the war."^[48]
• France January 28, 2016 – A Gunman carrying two weapons and Koran arrested at Disneyland Paris. Police are still searching for his accomplice.^[49]
• Germany February 4, 2016 – German police arrest four who were planning major Islamic State attack in Berlin. Police Thursday arrested four Algerians suspected of links to the Islamic State group after raids targeting several sites, including refugee shelters where some of the suspects lived.^[50]
• Russia February 8, 2016 – Russian police arrest 7 members of a ISIS terror cell that were planning terror attacks in Moscow and St Petersburg' after arriving from Turkey.^[51]
• Jordan March 2, 2016 – Jordanian security services thwarted a plot by Islamic State militants to blow up civilian and military targets. They located the militants, who were carrying suicide belts, in a hideout in the northern city of Irbid near the Syrian border.^[52]
• Somalia March 7, 2016 – US fixed wing and drone aircraft bombard a training camp for al-Shabaab a major terrorists group in Somalia. The camp had been under surveillance for several week and intelligences agencies believed that a major attack on African Union peacekeepers was imminent. Over 150 militants were killed.^[53]
• Turkey March 7, 2016 – Turkish forces detains IS suspects; seizes explosives and suicide vest. Two militants were seized at a Turkish/Syria border crossing.^[54]
• France March 11, 2016 – Police in Paris arrest four teen girls for planning copycat Paris style concert hall attack. They posted messages on Facebook that specifically named their intended target and planned to get funding and weapons from know Jihadist activist sites in Belgium.^[55]
• France March 23, 2016 – Police in France charge Reda Kriket, who traveled to Syria and met with Islamic State leaders last year, with planning an imminent terrorism attack in advanced stages along with three others detained in Belgium and the Netherlands.^[56]
• Great Britain April 1, 2016 – Delivery driver, Junead Khan, and his uncle are convicted in English court of plotting to kill American and British soldiers in England by staging road accidents on behalf of Islamic State. Kingston Crown Court southwest of London had heard that Junead Khan had been visited four times by police trying to divert him from extremism but he had rejected their offers of help.^[57]
• Russia April 12, 2016 – Three militants including at least one suicide bomber were killed in a failed attempt to attack a police station in Russia's Stavropol region. No police officers or civilians were harmed and witnesses report hearing five explosions and lots of gunfire. This police station follows a fortress defense pattern to withstand possible ISIS attacks that have occurred before in this area.^[58]
• Afghanistan April 21, 2016 – 10 Islamic militants were killed while they were busy making an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) inside a mosque in southeastern Ghazni province.^[59]
• Denmark April 22, 2016 – a US Soldier is decorated for foiling an active terrorist plot to blow up a school in Denmark. While working in Afghanistan, the soldier uncovered evidence of the plot and his communications to authorities in Denmark resulted in arrests and the confiscation of explosives.^[60]
• Italy April 28, 2016 – Italian authorities arrested four people suspected of extremism on Thursday and issued arrest warrants for two more operating in Syria, according to the Milan prosecutor.^[61]
• Russia April 30, 2016 – Illegal Muslim prayer hall blown up in Russia after police find Islamist explosives cache inside. The video of the controlled explosion shows a considerable part of the building being destroyed in the blast in an illegal Muslim prayer hall near the Russian city of Samara.^[62]
• Italy May 10, 2016 – Italian police have arrested two men accused of planning terror attacks in the UK and Italy.The suspects are alleged to have been plotting strikes on targets in London, including restaurants, hotels and a pedestrian footbridge near Canary Wharf in the east of the capital.Rome’s Coliseum and Circus Maximus, the ancient chariot racing stadium and a venue for modern-day concerts, are also said to have featured on their list.^[63]
• Singapore June 1, 2016 – Four men plead guilt in Singapore court to plotting to overthrow their home country of Bangladesh for the Islamic State.^[64]
• Germany June 2, 2016 – Düsseldorf terror attack thwarted as German police arrest three men from Syria plotting attack for Islamic State. The organization’s leadership ordered the two to carry out an attack in the bustling central pedestrian zone of Düsseldorf, the prosecutor’s office said.^[65]
• Indonesia June 16, 2016 – Indonesian bomb maker sentenced to five years prison time for plotting to bomb a Java Island Buddhist temple. Three other helpers receive lesser sentences. Thwarted plot was inspired by Islamic State extremists.^[66]
• Belgium June 18, 2016 – Belgian authorities arrest three men plotting a terror attack on a party gathered to watch a football match between Belgium and Ireland.^[67]
• Iran June 20, 2016 – "One of the biggest takfiri-Wahhabi terrorist plots was discovered and foiled" was announced by Iran's intelligence ministry. They said there had been "a major jihadist plot" to conduct bomb attacks throughout the country.^[68]
• Saudi Arabia July 4, 2016 – On the last day of Ramadan militants attempt 3 attacks inside this country, but the first two at Jeddah and Qatif appears to be successfully thwarted with only the attackers coming to harm. ^[69]
• South Africa July 11, 2016 – South Africa authorities arrest 4 ISIS supporters for plotting to bomb the US Embassy in Pretoria and an unidentified Jewish target. A large stockpile of grenade and other combat materials were seized. ^[70]
• Arizona July 20, 2016 – A Tucson man is charged in federal court on terrorism charges for plotting to bomb a State Motor Vehicle office and Jewish Community Center in a plot thwarted by the FBI. He had been emailing contacts with the Taliban to show support for Jihad and to get instructions on bomb-making.^[71]
• Brazil July 21, 2016 – Two weeks before the scheduled start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Brazilian Federal Police announced ten arrests related to an Islamist terrorist ring said to be linked to ISIS. Although the arrests were all made in southern Brazil, officials said the terrorist network existed in nine Brazilian states.^[72]
• Singapore August 5, 2016 – Police in Indonesia arrest six militants linked to ISIS operative in Syria who were planning a major rocket attack in neighboring Singapore. ^[73]
• Canada August 10, 2016 – Getting intelligence of an impending martyrdom operation, Royal Mounted Police shot and killed a man who set off an explosive device during his arrest. He was previously known to local authorities for his allegiance and support for Islamic State and had been given an court order prohibiting all contact with them. ^[74]
• Italy August 13, 2016 – The Italian government has arrested and deported a Tunisian national tied to the Islamic State and suspected of planning a bombing of the leaning Tower of Pisa.^[75]
• Iraq August 20, 2016 – Just one day after ISIS use a 12-year-old boy with a remote controlled suicide vest to hit a Kurdish wedding party in Turkey with horrible results, Iraqi police intercept another 12 year-old in Kirkuk and strip him of a suicide vest thwarting a Jihad attack there. ^[76]
• France September 8, 2016 – French police arrest three women, including one whom they describe as a major ISIS recruiter and another whom they say was previously engaged to two jihadists, thwarting an attack on a train station near Notre-Dame Cathedral.^[77]
• Germany September 13, 2016 – German police arrest three Syrian refugees whom they believe to be part of a possible ISIL sleeper cell after several raids of homes in Schleswig-Holstein.^[78]
• Germany October 8, 2016 – 2016 Chemnitz terrorism plot ^[79]
• Kuwait October 9, 2016 - US Troops save the life of their attacker, pulling him from his burning vehicle after he deliberately rammed their vehicle in a failed jihad attack. ^[80]
• Germany October 10, 2016 - German police in Leipzig declare that they narrowly thwarted a major Islamic State terror attack targeting a major Berlin airport or railhub. They arrest a Syrian migrant who had 3 pounds of explosive in his possession. ^[81] 3 days later, the prime suspect commits suicide in jail.^[82]
• Spain October 11, 2016 - Spanish police have arrested two men on suspicion of seeking recruits for the Islamic State group, the interior ministry said on Tuesday. The two men, who were arrested in separate operations in northern Spain, were both “fully integrated” into the infrastructure of the jihadist group and were “encouraging terrorist acts,” the statement said. ^[83]
• Arizona October 11, 2016 - An 18-year-old Tucson-area man accused of planning jihad-style attacks in Maricopa and Pima counties has pleaded guilty to three felonies and faces up to 14 years in prison, the Arizona Attorney General's Office announced Monday.^[84]
• Morocco October 12, 2016 - Moroccan police, in cooperation with Spanish security forces, have arrested a terrorist network suspected of links to ISIS, the Spanish Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.^[85]
• Australia October 12, 2016 - Counter-terrorism police have arrested two 16-year-old boys over an incident in Sydney's south-west.^[86]
• Iran October 13, 2016 - Iran’s security forces have thwarted terror plots in southern province of Fars.^[87]
• Italy October 17, 2016 - Italian police on Sunday arrested a man suspected of being an Islamic State sympathizer who was found to have a collection of home-made explosive devices and detonators.^[88]
• Turkey October 19, 2016 - Turkish police killed a suspected Islamic State militant group (ISIS) suicide bomber in Ankara Wednesday ahead of a planned attack, according to officials and state media.^[89]
• Kosovo,Macedonia and Albania November 17, 2016 - Simoltaneus attack were thwarted in Albania,Kosovo and Macedonia. 18 persons were arrested.^[90]
• United States November 21, 2016 - A Brooklyn man, Mohammed Rafik Naji, 37, a legal US resident originally from Yemen, was arrested by New York City police and charged with preparing a "Nice Style Terror Attack". ^[91]
• France November 23, 2016 - Six people arrested in France for plotting a terror plot for December 1st. Plot targeted Disneyland Paris, Champs-Elysées, police say. They were preparing an attack in the Paris area were directed from the ISIS heartland. ^[92][93]
• Netherlands November 26, 2016 - Police arrest suspects associated with the Arrayan Mosque in northern Amsterdam plotting to blowup a nearby synagogue according to a report by the Dutch daily, De Telegraaf.^[94]

References

External links

• timelineofterrorism.com
• "A History of Terror..." (prior to September 11)
• Terrorist attacks and related incidents in the United States