Incident Summary:
02/11/2008: The President of East Timor, Jose Ramos Horta, was shot 3 times and severely wounded as he was walking outside his home at Areia Branca near Dili, East Timor at around 6:30am. The attack appeared to be a kidnapping attempt gone wrong, and was perpetrated by East Timor Rebels led by renegade Major Alfredo Reinado. Two of Horta's bodyguards, one of which was injured, exchanged fire with the kidnappers/gunmen who were in two vehicles when they attempted to abduct the president. It was also declared that Alfredo Reinado and one of his soldiers were killed in the exchange. This attack as well as a later assassination attempt agains the Prime Minister of East Timor the same day was considered an attempt to overthrow the government.
Overview
GTD ID:
200802110001
When:
2008-02-11
Country:
East Timor
Region:
Southeast Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Dili
City:
Near Dili
Location Details:
Outside of Dili
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
| Successful Attack? () |
No |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Government (General) |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
East Timor Government |
| Specific Description |
President Jose Ramos Horta |
| Nationality of Target |
East Timor |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| 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 |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
A rebel group led by Reinado approached President Horta in two cars, and as they tried to make the abduction, Horta reached for a cell phone. The rebels shot him three times, and a shootout ensued with Horta's bodyguards. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
2 Fatalities / 1 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
2 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
| Total Number of Injured |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
| Brendan Nicholson, “President fights for life; East Timor leader shot on morning walk in coup attempt,” The Age, Feb 12, 2008. |
| Lindsay Murdoch, “Man of peace gunned down,” The Age, Feb 12, 2008. |
| Stephen Fitzpatrick, “President Ramos Horta critical after rebel's assassination attempt - Diggers sent to crisis in Timor,” The Australian, Feb 12, 2008. |
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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