Incident Summary:
05/08/2002: Fourteen military personnel, 11 French and three Pakistani, were killed in Karachi, Pakistan when they were attacked by a man who exploded the car he was in next to the bus they had just boarded. Another 20 were reported to have been injured in the bombing. The French nationals were in Pakistan assisting the Pakistani military on naval matters and were assumed to be the main target. Authorities, including the French defense minister Alliot-Marie, believed that there was a strong chance Al-Qaida was involved in the attack. They also believed that this incident was related to an April, 2002 bombing in Tunisia that killed 17 people, including 12 Germans, which Al Qaida was also suspected to have perpetrated. French and Pakistani authorities believed that three perpetrators were behind the bombing. Pakistani authorities had arrested 406 people in an effort to capture the perpetrators. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
200205080002
When:
2002-05-08
Country:
Pakistan
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Sindh
City:
Karachi
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Military |
Name of Entity |
French Military |
Specific Description |
French military personnel in Pakistan |
Nationality of Target |
France |
Target Type: Military |
Name of Entity |
Pakistan Military |
Specific Description |
Pakistan naval military personnel |
Nationality of Target |
Pakistan |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Vehicle |
Weapon Details |
A Toyota vehicle with a bomb inside. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | Yes |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
The French personnel were working with the Pakistani military on a submarine project. This was a serious attack on the French and may have affected their future policy of having French nationals working in Pakistan, although immediately after the incident the French government said this would not affect their military contracts with Pakistan. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Al-Qaida (suspected) |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
406 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
14 Fatalities / 20 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
14 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
Total Number of Injured |
20 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
“Traces of Terrorism: The Pakistan Bombing; 2 Deadly Attacks Show Signs of a Qaeda Revival,” New York Times, May 18, 2002. |
Raymond Bonner, “At Least 14 Die in Attack on French Group in Pakistan,” New York Times, May 9, 2002. |
“New French defence minister views Pakistani car bomb attack,” France Inter Radio, May 12, 2002. |
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