Incident Summary:
01/07/2006: American journalist, Jill Carroll, was kidnapped and her Iraqi translator, Alan Enwiya, was killed in the Adel district of western Baghdad, Iraq. Three men armed with pistols intercepted their car, shot Enwiya, and abducted Carroll. Their driver, Adnan Abbas, escaped unharmed. Beginning on January 17 a Sunni extremist group linked to al Qaida in Iraq calling itself the "Revenge Brigade" released several videos of Carroll and demanded the release of all female Iraqi prisoners in US custody. On January 26, reportedly unrelated to the demands made by Carroll's captors, five female detainees were released from US custody along with several hundred male detainees. Carroll was released on March 30, 2006.
Overview
GTD ID:
200601070004
When:
2006-01-07
Country:
Iraq
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Baghdad
City:
Baghdad
Location Details:
Adel (District)
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Journalists & Media |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Christian Science Monitor |
| Specific Description |
Jill Carroll, freelance journalist |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Not applicable |
| Specific Description |
Alan Enwiya, translator |
| Nationality of Target |
Iraq |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
1 |
| US Hostages |
1 |
| Days of Kidnapping |
82 |
| Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Handgun |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
The hostage was released on March 30, 2006. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Revenge Brigade |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Video) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
3 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Quinn, Patrick. “Iraqi Police Search For Kidnapped American Journalist,” Associated Press, January 9, 2006. |
| Carroll, Jill, and Peter Grier. "Hostage: The Jill Carroll Story," Christian Science Monitor, August 14, 2006. |
| "Marines: Carroll was held near Iraq base," Associated Press, August 9, 2006. |
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
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