Incident Summary:
06/12/2009: On Friday, in Nushur, Sa'dah, Yemen, armed assailants kidnapped nine civilians (7 Germans including 3 children; 1 Briton; 1 South Korean). On 06/15/2009, the bodies of three hostages (2 Germans; 1 South Korean) were found. Two additional hostages, both children, were rescued in May 2010. The childrens' parents and younger sibling were killed on September 23, 2014. The condition of the remaining hostage is unknown. No damage or motive were reported. No group claimed responsibility, but it was believed that local Huthi tribal members or Al-Qaida Organization in the Arabian Peninsula were responsible.
Overview
GTD ID:
200906120016
When:
2009-06-12
Country:
Yemen
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Saada
City:
Nushur
Location Details:
The attack took place in Nushur, Sa'dah, Yemen.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
Seven German citizens |
| Nationality of Target |
Germany |
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
One British citizen |
| Nationality of Target |
Great Britain |
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
|
| Specific Description |
A South Korean citizen was targeted. |
| Nationality of Target |
South Korea |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
9 |
| US Hostages |
0 |
| Outcome |
Combination |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Unknown |
|
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Unknown weapons were used in the attack. |
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 Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
6 Fatalities |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
6 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
Unknown |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| National Counterterrorism Center, "Three Civilians Kidnapped and Killed, Three Civilians, Three Children Kidnapped in Nushur, Sa'dah, Yemen," Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, December 03, 2009. |
| Deutsche Press-Agentur, "Seven Germans, Briton And Korean Kidnapped In Yemen," Deutsche Press-Agentur, June 14, 2009. |
| "German couple kidnapped in Yemen is dead, foreign ministry says." Deutsche Welle, September 23, 2014. |
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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