Incident Summary:
08/20/2008: On Wednesday, a total of 28 people were killed and 39 wounded by Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militants from the Hizbul Shabaab group after clashes erupted in Kismayo, Ubbada Hose province, Somalia. UIC militants detonated a landmine against a truck carrying clan militias and then began an armed attack against the town of Kismayo in an attempt to take it over. The fighting continued throughout the following day until Thursday evening on 08/21/2008. No reports of damages and no claim of responsibility were made for the incident.
Overview
GTD ID:
200808200009
When:
2008-08-20
Country:
Somalia
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Lower Juba
City:
Kismayo
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
Indiscriminate Somali citizens were also targeted. |
| Nationality of Target |
Somalia |
| Target Type: Terrorists/Non-state Militia |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
Somali clan militias |
| Nationality of Target |
Somalia |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Land Mine |
| Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| A landmine was used in the bombing attack and unknown firearms were used in the firearm attack. |
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 |
The available sources listed the fatalities for these attacks from 20 to 35, and the injuries for these attacks from eight to 70, so these figures have been averaged in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Group Sub-name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Al-Shabaab |
Hizbul Shabaab |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
28 Fatalities / 39 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
28 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
39 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Garrowe Online, "Death Toll Hits 20 As Al Shabaab Capture Kismayo," August 21, 2008, http://www.garoweonline.com. |
| Africa News, "Somalia; Kismayo Fighting 'Clan Related'," Lexis Nexis, Africa News, August 21, 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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