Incident Summary:
1/16/1996-1/20/1996: Nine Chechen Rebels hijacked a ferry as it was about to leave from the port in Trabzon, Trabzon, Turkey. The 199 hostages on board were aboard Russian ferry bound for Sochi in Russia. The rebels demanded that Russian forces stop their assault on the town of Pervomayskaya. The incident was resolved without any loss of life and only one hostage being slightly wounded. Nine men, including the leader of the group (Mohammed Tokan) were arrested and convicted. No information on where the incident ended was available.
Overview
GTD ID:
199601160013
When:
1996-01-16
Country:
Turkey
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Trabzon
City:
Trabzon
Location Details:
At the port
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Hijacking |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
Civilians |
Specific Description |
Turkish Citizens |
Nationality of Target |
Turkey |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
Civilians |
Specific Description |
Russian Citizens |
Nationality of Target |
Russia |
Target Type: Unknown |
Name of Entity |
Ferry |
Specific Description |
Ferry bound for Russia from Turkey |
Nationality of Target |
Russia |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
199 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Days of Kidnapping |
4 |
Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
Ransom |
Yes |
Total Ransom Amount Demanded |
0.00 |
Ransom Amount Demanded from US Sources |
Unknown |
Total Ransom Amount Paid |
Unknown |
Total Ransom Amount Paid by US Sources |
Unknown |
Ransom Notes |
The perpetrators demanded that Russians forces stop shelling the town of Pervomayskaya. |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Additional Information |
The number of perpetrators ranges from 6 to 20. Due to the fact that 9 were arrested and sentenced according to a 2001 report, the number of perpetrators is listed as 9. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Chechen Rebels |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim) |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
9 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
9 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 1 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
1 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"Chechens mount surprise assault on Russians: All hostages reportedly dead in rebel siege," CNN, January 18, 1996. |
Carol J. Williams, "Chechen Rebels Stage New Raids," Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1996. |
Carol J. Williams, "Russians Give Up on Hostages, Shell Chechens," Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1996. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties