Overview
GTD ID:
200604140018
When:
2006-04-14
Country:
Egypt
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Alexandria
City:
Alexandria
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Religious Figures/Institutions |
Name of Entity |
Coptic Community in Alexandria |
Specific Description |
Two Saints Church |
Nationality of Target |
Egypt |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
Weapon Details |
Knives and swords were used while other sources said machetes were used. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | Yes |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
The governor of Alexandria, General Abdel Sallam Mahgoub, told state-run television that a mentally unstable 25-year-old carrying two knives had carried out the attacks in all three churches in Alexandria that occurred one after the other, wounding up to 6 people before he was arrested. The Interior Ministry identified his as Mahmud Salah-al-Din abd-al-Raziq Husayn, a confectionary shop employee and a student discharged from the Reserve Officers Faculty due to schizophrenia, being admitted to Al-Ma'mura hospital in 2004, but this was dismissed by many as a minimization of the event. --The appeals judge at Alexandria preliminary ordered Husayn to be placed in a mental institution for 45 days observation for sanity. The Alexandria prosecution accused Husayn of murder, attempted murder, attacking a house of worship, and having unlicensed cold steel weapons. --The injury of the dead citizen, Nusihi Ata Girgis, was a deep wound in the abdomen. Qazman Wafiq Zikhari, aged 68, sustained a wound in the right side of his abdomen and Maykil Bisadah Adib sustained a deep wound in the left arm. --After the funeral of one of the victims, clashes broke out where Muslims and Copts attacked each other with sticks in the northern city's downtown area and stones were thrown from nearby buildings. Initial reports said the clashes left at least 15 people injured and four vehicles in flames, according to an interior ministry source. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
1 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 2 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
2 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
“Clashes in Egypt as Copts blame church attacks on 'terrorist' plot,” Agence France Presse -- English, April 15, 2006. |
“Egyptian Ministry Says Churches Attacked by Mentally Ill Person,” Cairo MENA (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic,” April 14, 2006. |
“3 Coptic churches in Egypt attacked,” The International Herald Tribune, April 15, 2006. |
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