Incident Summary:
02/16/2008: In Parachanar, a suicide attack was carried out, which killed 21 civilians initially (37 total) and injured approximately 100 civilians when an individual slammed his car filled with explosives into Dr. Riaz Hussain’s election office; Dr. Hussain was the candidate for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Although Dr. Hussain was unharmed in this attack, the majority of the victims were members of the PPP and were standing in line awaiting food. Although no group claimed responsibility for this attack, the Political Administration of Khyber Agency arrested 10 people allegedly involved in same.
Overview
GTD ID:
200802160003
When:
2008-02-16
Country:
Pakistan
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
City:
Parachinar
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) |
| Specific Description |
Dr. Riaz Hussain, the presidential candidate for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) |
| Nationality of Target |
Pakistan |
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Civilians |
| Specific Description |
members of the PPP |
| 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 |
|---|
| An explosive-laden car driven by a suicide bomber was used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | Yes |
| 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 |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
10 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
38 Fatalities / 93 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
38 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
| Total Number of Injured |
93 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| “21 Killed By Suicide Attack In Pakistan,” Riyadh SPA, February 16, 2008. |
| “Death Toll of Suicide Attack in Pakistan's Tribal Area Rises To 37,” Beijing Xinhua, February 16, 2008. |
| Ashraf Afzaal, “Suicide attacks kill 39 as Pakistan vote campaign ends,” Agence France Presse, February 16, 2008. |
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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