Incident Summary:
11/01/2004: An American, Nepali, Filipino and three Iraqi employees of the Saudi Arabian Trading and Contracting Company (SATCO) were abducted from its office in Baghdad by a group of 20 armed militants. The militants attacked the office with assault rifles and RPGs, killing one Iraqi guard. The three Iraqi hostages were released shortly after their capture and the Nepali citizen, Inus Dewari, was released on November 6, 2004. Roberto Tarongoy, the Phillippine citizen, was released on June 23, 2005. American forces stormed a farm house just outside of Baghdad on September 7, 2005 and freed the American hostage, Roy Hallums. The perpetrators made various requests for ransom, but none was ever paid. No group claimed responsibility for this incident.
Overview
GTD ID:
200411010005
When:
2004-11-01
Country:
Iraq
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Baghdad
City:
Baghdad
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Saudi Arabian Trading and Contracting Company (SATCO) |
| Specific Description |
SATCO Baghdad office |
| Nationality of Target |
Saudi Arabia |
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Civilians |
| Specific Description |
SATCO employees |
| Nationality of Target |
Multinational |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
6 |
| US Hostages |
1 |
| Days of Kidnapping |
311 |
| Outcome |
Combination |
| Ransom |
Yes |
| Total Ransom Amount Demanded |
15000000.00 |
| Ransom Amount Demanded from US Sources |
15000000.00 |
| Total Ransom Amount Paid |
0.00 |
| Total Ransom Amount Paid by US Sources |
0.00 |
| Ransom Notes |
In addition to the ransom, the kidnappers demanded the release of at least four prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
| Explosives |
Projectile (rockets, mortars, RPGs, etc.) |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
20 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
| 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
| “US Citizen, Five Others Kidnapped in Iraq on Eve of US Elections,” ONASA News Agency, November 01, 2004. |
| “Foreigners Seized in Baghdad Kidnapping,” ABC Premium News, November 02, 2004. |
| Robert H. Reid, “Kidnappers Grab Second US Citizen in a Week; Militants Behead Iraqi Army Officer,” Associated Press, November 03, 2004. |
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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