Incident Summary:
08/31/2002: Unknown gunmen killed three people, including two Americans, and injured at least ten others when they used automatic weapons to ambush a convoy heading towards the U.S.-owned Grasberg gold mine near Timika, Indonesia. Six out of the 10 injured were Americans. The mine's operator, PT Freeport Indonesia, an affiliate of the New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper-and-Gold Inc., had often been criticized by human rights advocates for allegedly cooperating with Indonesian security forces in suppressing pro-independence activities. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
200208310001
When:
2002-08-31
Country:
Indonesia
Region:
Southeast Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Papua
City:
Near Timika
Location Details:
This incident occurred on a road close to Timika near the Grasberg Gold Mine in Papua Province.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Civilians |
| Specific Description |
Civilians in a convoy heading to Grasberg Gold Mine |
| Nationality of Target |
Multinational |
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Freeport-McMoRan Copper-and-Gold Inc. |
| Specific Description |
American and Indonesian employees of Freeport-McMoRan Copper-and-Gold Inc. |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
| Target Type: Educational Institution |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
2 American teachers working at a school near the mine |
| Nationality of Target |
|
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
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 |
This incident was thought to be related to the fact that the mine's operator, PT Freeport Indonesia, had aided the Indonesian government in suppressing pro-Independence groups in Papua Province. PT Freeport Indonesia was an affiliate of Freeport-McMoRan Copper-and-Gold Inc. |
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 |
3 Fatalities / 10 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
3 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
2 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
10 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
6 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| "Two Americans Ambushed in Indonesia Die,” Long Beach Press, August 31, 2002. |
| Slobodan Lekic, "Gunmen Kill Three People, Including Two Americans, in Indonesia,” The Associated Press, August 31, 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
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