Incident Summary:
11/25/2011: Members of Al-Qa ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) abducted three tourists from Amanar restaurant in the city of Timbuktu, Timbuktu region, Mali. The hostages included Stephen McGown, a South African and British dual national; Johan Gustafson, a Swedish national; and Sjaak Rijke, a Dutch national. A fourth man, a German national, was shot and killed when he resisted getting into the assailants' vehicle. Rijke's wife was also present, but managed to evade capture. Rijke was unexpectedly freed during an operation by French special forces in April 2015. In June 2015 a video was posted online in which McGown and Gustafson call on the governments of South Africa and Sweden to secure their release, but make no reference to negotiations or ransom. Gustafson was released in June 2017, and McGown was ultimately released in August 2017 following payment of a $4.2 million ransom.
Overview
GTD ID:
201111250020
When:
2011-11-25
Country:
Mali
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Timbuktu
City:
Timbuktu
Location Details:
Amanar restaurant in Timbuktu
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Tourists |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Multinational tourists |
| Specific Description |
Tourists in Timbuktu, including German, Dutch, Swedish and British-South African nationals |
| Nationality of Target |
Multinational |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
3 |
| US Hostages |
0 |
| Days of Kidnapping |
2078 |
| Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
| Ransom |
Yes |
| Total Ransom Amount Demanded |
Unknown |
| Ransom Amount Demanded from US Sources |
0.00 |
| Total Ransom Amount Paid |
4200000.00 |
| Total Ransom Amount Paid by US Sources |
0.00 |
| Ransom Notes |
3500000 Euros |
| Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
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 |
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
| Sebastian Boe, "Second Group of Foreign Nationals Kidnapped in Mali," IHS Global Insight Daily Analysis, November 28, 2011. |
| "Dutch hostage Sjaak Rijke freed in Mali," BBC News, April 6, 2015. |
| Spencer, Richard, "New British 'front man' for jihadist videos revealed," The Telegraph, June 23, 2015. |
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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