Incident Summary:
02/09/2003: At noon local time, three Palestinian members of Saray al-Quds, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad organization, blew up their own car armed with explosives at the al-Qarrarah Israeli checkpoint in southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities stated that the Islamic Jihad members drove up to the checkpoint and two of militants began firing upon Israeli soldiers. The third militant drove the car and detonated the bomb inside when the Israeli Army returned fire. All three of the militants were killed and four Israeli soldiers were wounded. In a leaflet distributed around the nearby city of Khan Younis, Saray al-Quds claimed responsibility for the attacks, and named the perpetrators: Sulayman Miqdad from al-Nusaryat camp, Adil Abd-al-Salam from al-Burayj camp, and Muhammad Nimr, also from al-Burayj camp.
Overview
GTD ID:
200302090001
When:
2003-02-09
Country:
West Bank and Gaza Strip
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Gaza Strip
City:
Al-Qarrarah
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Military |
Name of Entity |
Israeli Defence Force (IDF) |
Specific Description |
IDF checkpoint at Al-Qarrarah, southern Gaza Strip |
Nationality of Target |
Israel |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Vehicle |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
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 checkpoint was also named Gush Katif, which is the name of a bloc of Jewish settlements in southern Gaza. The four injured Israeli soldiers were treated for shock at a local hospital. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Group Sub-name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) |
al-Quds Brigades |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Note left at scene) |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
3 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
3 Fatalities / 4 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
3 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
3 |
Total Number of Injured |
4 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"VOP Says Three Palestinians Killed in Gaza Belong to Islamic Jihad," Voice of Palestine, February 9, 2003. |
"Jihad claims responsible for car bombing in Gaza," Xinhua, February 9, 2003. |
Ross Dunn, "Three Palestinains Die in Car Bomb," Voice of America, February 9, 2003. |
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