Incident Summary:
3/12/2001: A family of eleven, including three children, was attacked in their homes and their throats were cut by seven individuals at 11:30pm in Haouch Rabta Jelloul village, Tipaza province, Algeria. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
200103120007
When:
2001-03-12
Country:
Algeria
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Tipaza
City:
Haouch Rabta Jelloul
Location Details:
A village outside of Tipaza and west of Algiers by about 45 miles
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
The Elfsih family |
| Specific Description |
Eleven members of the Elfsih family |
| Nationality of Target |
Algeria |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
| Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Neighbors heard gunshots coming from the house, but the victims' throats were slit. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
Yes |
| Alternate Designation () |
Other Crime Type |
| Additional Information |
The eleven members of the family killed included: three children, including a baby two months of age, and their parents, grandparents, two nephews, and an uncle and aunt. Neighbors reported hearing gunfire come three times from the house and seeing at least one of the seven attackers wearing fatigues from the military. It was unclear who fired the gun, as the victims' throats were slit. When the neighbors reported this to the local militia, who support the government, the miltia would not investigate or attempt to apprehend the killers without orders to do so, despite the fact that they were armed. Neighbors claimed that if the militia had acted sooner, one or more of the family members could have been saved. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
7 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
11 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
11 |
| 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
| "Suspected Algerian rebels kill 26 villagers," Reuters, March 13, 2001. |
| Abdelhalim Tifour, "The GIA hit in the center of the country; 11 people had their throats slit in Tipaza," Le Mat Version, March 14, 2001. |
| "Two families massacred in Algeria," BBC, March 13, 2001. |
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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