World War II. Millions of Jews are killed under Hitler.

Britain's colonial secretary in the Mandate Lord Moyne is assassinated by the militantly Zionist LEHI organization (formerly called the Stern Gang).

The Arab League is formed when Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen join together, proclaiming their intent to defend Palestine.

The U.N. votes to partition Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem designated an internationalized zone. Palestinian Arabs reject the plan.

The modern-day state of Israel is established.

The Arab-Israeli War: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invade Israel.

Count Folke Bernadotte, a U.N. mediator in Palestine, is assassinated by Jewish commandos under the leadership of Yitzhak Shamir.

More than 123,000 Iraqi Jews and 20,000 Egyptian Jews flee to Israel; 100s are killed in riots.

U.S.: Two Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Members attempt to assassinate President Truman.

Height of the Korean War.

Abdullah, King of Jordan, is assassinated by a Palestinian in the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Israel begins moving government offices from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The United States protests that the move violates the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan declaring Jerusalem to be an internationalized zone.

Israeli army Unit 101 under the command of Ariel Sharon attacks the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Bureig in the Gaza Strip, killing 20 residents. The raid is in retaliation for Arab paramilitary fedayeen (commando) raids against Israel.

Sharon and Unit 101 raid the village of Qibya, Jordan, killing 70 residents inside their homes. The raid is in retaliation for an alleged attack against an Israeli village in which a woman and two children were murdered.

The Sinai Campaign: large groups of terrorists enter Israel, and the security of Israeli ports is threatened.

Yasar Arafat of Egypt founds Al Fatah, an underground terrorist organization.

Arab-Israeli War.

Vietnam War (Escalated U.S. involvement from 1965-1969.)

The PLO is founded to support the establishment of a Palestinian state through legal and political methods as well as acts of violence.

Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN) founded.

Colombia: Founding of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Israel launches raids against the West Bank towns of Qalqiya, Shuna, and Jenin in reprisal for Palestinian attacks. Calls go through the Arab world for war against Israel, confirming the strategy of al-Fatah, which uses attacks on Israelis to provoke Israeli reprisals against Palestinians, which in turn would, it was hoped, start a new war of Palestinian liberation.

The Israeli military conquers the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai, and Golan Heights. The United Nations calls on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories. Control and stewardship of the Temple Mount is returned to the Muslims.

Osama bin Laden inherits millions when his father, Mohammed bin Oud bin Laden, owner of the largest construction firm in Saudi Arabia, dies in a helicopter accident in Texas.

Six-Day War: Arab terrorists raid across Egyptian and Jordanian borders into Israel. Israel launches a massive air assault that cripples Arab air capability, and the Knesset passes a law effectively annexing Arab East Jerusalem.

The U.N. responds to Israel?s annexation of East Jerusalem with Resolution 267, stipulating that Arab Jerusalem is "occupied territory."

The U.N. issues Resolution 242 calling on Israel to withdraw from "territories occupied in the recent conflict." Israel formally accepts the resolution, but refuses to withdraw from Palestinian lands.

Arafat becomes leader of the PLO, commits more than 200 major terrorist acts.

Syria: "Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine" (PFLP) General Command founded.

U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles, Calif., by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian who was reportedly motivated by Kennedy's pro-Israel positions.

An El Al flight en route from Rome, Italy, to Israel is hijacked by PFLP terrorists and forced to land in Algiers, Algeria; 42 hostages are taken.

An estimated 560 raids into Israel from the Lebanese side of the border take place; Lebanon (and Jordan) increasingly become targets for Israeli retaliatory attacks.

Palestinian terrorists attack an El Al airliner at the Zurich, Switzerland, airport; one pilot is killed, and one pilot is wounded.

Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine founded.

A TWA flight from Los Angeles is hijacked by PFLP terrorists and forced to land in Damascus, Israel; 6 passengers are held hostage.

Palestinian terrorists attack El Al offices in Brussels, Belgium; Athens, Greece; and Berlin, Germany, using bombs and hand grenades.

The Action Organization for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack a bus at the Munich, West Germany, airport; one passenger is killed, and 11 are injured.

Israel: PFLP-GC bombing of Swissair jet kills 47.

El Salvador: Popular Forces of Liberation (PLF) formed.

PLO guerrillas fail in a plot to assassinate Jordanian King Hussein.

Jordan: Palestinian guerrillas expelled from country; "Black September" takes its name from this day.

Pan Am, Swissair, and TWA flights carrying a total of 400 passengers are hijacked by PFLP terrorists from Amsterdam, Netherlands; Zurich, Switzerland; and Frankfurt, Germany; the planes are forced to land in Zerqa, Jordan, and Cairo, Egypt, where each are blown up on the ground.

Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan hijack four commercial airliners (one Swiss, two American, and one British), taking the passengers and crews hostage.

In retaliation for the plane hijackings the week before, Jordan?s army attacks Palestinian positions and expels PLO officials and commandos from Jordan. 20,000 die when Palestinian neighborhoods and refugee camps are shelled. The PLO moves its base of operations to Beirut, Lebanon.

Jordanian Prime Minister Wash Tel is assassinated in Cairo, Egypt, by members of Black September.

Black September attempts to assassinate Jordan?s Ambassador to London, Zeid Al Rifai.

A West German electrical installation and a Dutch gas plant are blown up by members of Black September.

A Belgian Sabena flight en route from Vienna, Austria, to Tel Aviv, Israel, is hijacked. Lod airport in Israel is attacked; 24 killed. A Tel Aviv bus terminal is bombed, 11 injured. An oil refinery in Trieste, Italy, is attacked. All attacks were carried out by Black September.

"The Munich Massacre," West Germany: 9 Israeli athletes are killed and 11 are taken hostage by Black September at the Olympic grounds in West Germany. After failed rescue attempt by German authorities all 11 hostages also die along with hostage-takers.

Thailand: Black September takes hostages and seizes Israeli Embassy; hostages released in return of safe conduct.

Black September assassinates the U.S. Ambassador to Sudan and other diplomats in the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum, Saudi Arabia.

Israeli commandos, including Ehud Barak, enter Beirut, Lebanon, and assassinate three PLO officials who Israel claims had been involved in the attack on Israeli athletes at Munich in 1972.

Yom Kippur War begins: Egypt and Syria attack Israel.

Greece: Student uprising quashed by riot police, killing 34 and wounding 800; 17 November takes its name from this incident.

An airport terminal lounge in Rome, Italy, and Pan American flight 202 bound for Beirut, Lebanon, and Tehran, Iran, are attacked; 29 killed, five taken hostage. The perpetrators demand release of two Arab terrorists.

U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3236 recognizes the right of Palestinian people to independence and sovereignty, and recognizes the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.

France: Turkish ambassador to France and driver killed in Paris; Secret Army of the Liberation of Armenia responsible.

West Germany: Three Black September Terrorists hijack Lufthansa plane and demand release of those who committed 1972 Olympics massacre; hijackers captured but all later released.

OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria, are raided by Carlos the Jackal and PFLP associates; 3 killed, 62 hostages taken. PFLP demands a statement to be read on TV, and demands and receives an airplane to escape. Hostages are released after $40 million ransom is paid.

Greece: U.S. Diplomat Richard Welch killed by gunmen in Athens; 17 November terrorist group responsible.

An Air France airliner is hijacked in Greece by the Baader-Meinhof Group and the PFLP and forced to land in Uganda; 258 passengers are taken hostage; two hostages and one hijacker killed.

Uganda: Israelis raid Entebbe, rescue 246 hijacked hostages; two hostages, one Israeli, and one hijacker killed.

Iraq: Two truck bombs target Shia areas of Tal Afar, killing 152 and injuring 347.

Egypt and Israel ratify Camp David Accords.

Italy: Statesman Aldo Moro murdered by Red Brigade.

Islamic Jihad is founded by Islamic fundamentalist Fathi Shaqaqi and other radical Palestinian students.

West Germany: Red Army Faction member Irmgard Moeller sentenced to life in prison for attacks on U.S. Army Headquarters in Heidelberg.

U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs is kidnapped in Kabul, Afghanistan, with demand to release "religious figures;" Dubs and four alleged terrorists are killed.

Iran Hostage Crisis: The U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, is seized by fundamentalist Islamic students; 66 American Citizens (Diplomats, Marines and American Embassy Employees) taken hostage with demands that the United States extradite the overthrown Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, who is in the United States for medical treatment. Hostages are released 444 days later, hours after the U.S. Presidential Inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, who threaten retaliation if the hostages were not released.

The Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is seized by Islamic terrorists; hundreds of pilgrims are taken hostage, 250 are killed, and 600 are injured.

Pakistan: False rumors of U.S. takeover of Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, fuel Islamic Militants' attack on U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

Osama bin Laden and his associate Mohammed Atef become involved in the Mujadeen rebellion when the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

Iran-Contra: The United States begins selling weapons to Iran to persuade the nation's leaders to release hostages, and channels funds to the Contra militants fighting the Sandanista government in Nicaragua. In response, Iran immediately releases Benjamin Weir and later releases Martin Jenco and David Jacobson.

Iran-Iraq war: Iraq uses chemical weapons in the war.

Islamic terrorists seize the Iranian embassy in London, England; 2 are killed.

Peru: Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) begins terrorist operations.

Colombia: M-19 seizes Dominican Embassy, holds 20 ambassadors and 65 others hostage; last hostage released 21 April.

El Salvador: A right-wing terrorist group assassinates Archbishop Oscar Amulfo Romero.

Iran: Remaining 52 U.S. Embassy hostages seized in November 1979 released.

Pope John Paul II is shot in a failed assassination attempt by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turk, at St. Peters' Square in the Vatican. Agca initially claims that he was working for the Bulgarian intelligence service, but later retracts that statement. Agca also claims to be a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, but the group denies any ties to the man.

Egypt President Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated by members of the Al-Jihad group (Muslim extremists in his own army who are part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad) in Cairo; the group also injures 20 by attacking at an annual military parade in Cairo, that Sadat was reviewing at the time of his assassination.

Belgium: Antwerp synagogue bombed, killing two and wounding 99, bomber unknown.

Operation Peace for Galilee and the Lebanon invasion of Israel (The 1982 War). The PLO perpetuates repeated terrorist attacks in northern Israel (Galilee).

Lebanon: Malcolm Kerr, American University president, assassinated in Beirut; Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.

France: Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigades assassinate Israeli Embassy Political Secretary.

David Dodge, President of the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped, released, kidnapped again, tortured, and finally killed by Hezbollah.

A bomb planted by Palestinian terrorist Mohammad Rashid explodes in a Pan Am flight over Honolulu, Hawaii; one passenger is killed, several are injured.

Lebanese Prime Minster Premier Bashir Gemayel is assassinated in Beirut, Lebanon.

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is destroyed by a suicide car-bombing by Radical Islamic Jihad members; 63 killed, 120 injured.

West Germany: Carlos-led group bombs French cultural center in West Berlin, killing one and wounding 23.

UAE: Omani Gulf Aircraft bombed; 111 killed, including one U.S. Citizen.

Burma: North Korean Commandos attack a South Korean State Delegation visiting Rangoon, killing 21 Burmese and Korean Officials.

A truck bomb is detonated near U.S. military barracks in West Beirut, Lebanon, and a second bomb follows; 241 Marines and 58 French paratroopers are killed. Attacks are carried out by Shiite suicide bombers under Imad Magniyah, bin Laden's "terrorism teacher."

Greece: U.S. Navy Captain George Tsantes killed in Athens, 17 November responsible.

Spain: Basque Group Iraultza bombs eight U.S. facilities in Spanish Basque territory to protest U.S. involvement in Central America.

Truck bombing kills six and injure 80 at U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait; members of the Hizballah Islamic Jihad carry out the attacks.

United Kingdom: PIRA bombs Harrods Department Store in London, killing nine including one U.S. Citizen, and injuring 91 others.

Osama bin Laden moves to Pakistan, co-founds Maktub al-Khidamat (MAK) to organize approximately 20,000 anti-Soviet Mujahideen rebels, and channels overseas weapons and funds to the group.

More than $250 million per year in arms and resistance is sent from the U.S. government to Afghanistan; part of these funds are unknowingly contributed to Osama bin Laden's terrorist cause.

CIA station chief William Buckley is kidnapped, tortured, and executed in Beirut, Lebanon, by members of the Islamic Jihad.

A suicide bomb explodes at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon; 23 are killed and 21 injured, including U.S. and British ambassadors. The attack is attributed to the Iranian-backed Hizballah, but Islamic Jihad?s Imad Magniyah (Osama bin Laden's "terrorism teacher") is later believed responsible.

India: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards; many Sikhs killed in retaliation.

Portugal: U.S. Embassy hit by four mortar rounds; 25 April Movement responsible.

United Arab Emirates (UAE): Kuwait Airways Flight 221 is hijacked and diverted to Tehran, Iran, by Hizballah Islamic Jihad members, including Imad Mughniyah, Osama bin Laden's "terrorism teacher." Hijackers demand the release of 17 suspects arrested after Kuwait attack. Iranian troops storm the plane and arrest the hijackers, but later release them; two passengers are killed.

United Kingdom: PIRA kills nine police officers in motor attack.

Lebanon: U.S. journalist Terry Anderson kidnapped.

A bomb exploded in a restaurant where U.S. soldiers were known to eat. The explosion killed 18 Spaniard citizens and injured 82 other people. Only 15 of the Americans were injured, but none were killed.

Spain: Firebombing of U.S. Citibank and Xerox buildings.

U.S. academic Thomas Sutherland is kidnapped in Lebanon by alleged Hizballah members, and is held hostage for more than 5 years.

Lebanon: Jordanian flight to Amman hijacked, hostages freed next day; plane destroyed, hijackers escape.

TWA flight 847 leaving Rome, Italy, is hijacked by tow Hizballah members, and forced to fly to Beirut, Lebanon. U.S. Navy Diver, Robert Steham murdered; other hostages released, hijackers escape.

TWA flight 847 en route from Athens, Greece, to Rome, Italy, is hijacked and forced to fly to Beirut, Lebanon. Eight crew members and 145 passengers are held hostage, one American hostage is murdered. The aircraft is flown twice to Algiers, Algeria, and is finally returned to Beirut after Israel releases 435 Lebanese and Palestinian Shiite prisoners.

Canada: Bomb explodes on Air India flight 182, killing 329; Sikhs Ripudaman Sing Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri held responsible and captured on 28 October 2001.

PLO commandos led by Muhammad ("Abu") Abbas hijack an Achille Lauro cruise ship at Port Said, Egypt; more than 700 hostages are taken, one handicapped American passenger, Leon Klinghoffer, is shot and then pushed over the side of the ship in his wheelchair. Hijackers demand the release of Palestinians imprisoned worldwide; the Egyptian government offers the terrorists safe haven, and the hostages are released.

Colombia: More than 100 die in M-19 seizure of Supreme Court building.

Egypt Air flight 648 is hijacked by Abu Nidal (ANO) in Valleta, Malta; a 30-hour standoff between the hijackers and the Egyptian commandos ensues. Sixty killed during attempted rescue.

U.S. and Israeli airport check-in desks at Israel?s El Al airline in Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria, are attacked simultaneously with grenades; 20 are killed (including four terrorists). The terrorists are working for the Libyan government, which funds and monetarily rewards various Palestinian terrorist groups.

A chartered DC-8 flight holding 248 members of the 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and eight flight-crew members crashes during takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland. The soldiers were going home after completing peacekeeping duties in the Middle East. All passengers and flight crew aboard are killed.

Terrorists throwing hand grenades and firing automatic rifles simultaneously storm the check-in counters for Israel's El Al airline at check-in counters in Rome and Vienna. A total of 20 people die in the two attacks, including three of the four guerrillas in Rome and one of the three in Vienna, 121 wounded. A caller to a Malaga, Spain, news service claims the raids are carried out by the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO).

A bomb planted under a seat of TWA Flight 840 en route from Rome, Italy, is detonated by Palestinian "Hawari" splinter group Ezzedine Kassam, a unit of the Arab Revolutionary Cells and the Iraqi-backed May 15 organization, as it approaches Athens Airport; four U.S. citizens are killed, and nine injured.

Germany: La Belle disco bombed, killing three and wounding 200, Libya responsible.

LaBelle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany, a spot frequented by U.S. servicemen, is bombed by terrorists working for the Libyan government, which funds and monetarily rewards various Palestinian terrorist groups. Three are killed, and 150 injured.

Libya: U.S. planes bomb Tripoli and Benghazi as well as home of Libyan leader Moammar Quadaffi, in retaliation for La Bell disco bombing on 4 April.

Sudan: U.S. Embassy communicator shot and wounded in Khartoum.

Gaza Strip: Israelis kill HAMAS Gaza Strip leader Dr. 'Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi.

Turkey: ANO kills 21 in attack on Istanbul synagogue.

Frank Reed, director of the American University in Beirut, is kidnapped in Lebanon by Hizballah and released 44 months later.

Joseph Cicippio, acting comptroller at the American University in Beirut, is kidnapped in Lebanon by Hizballah and released 5 years later.

South Korea: Bomb at Kimpo Airport kills five and wounds 29, North Korea blamed.

U.S. citizen Edward A. Tracy is kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon, by Hizballah and released 5 years later.

Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), the Palestinian anti-Israel terrorist organization, is founded. Known for bombings and suicide attacks, Hamas also eventually employs a political organization and has candidates running in local elections.

The al Muthanna State Establishment and the Nuclear Research Center at Al Tuwaitha in Iraq researches radiological weapons and tests three prototypes. The center is abandoned in 1988; the whereabouts of 100 bomb casings from the site are still unknown.

United Nations hostage negotiator Terry Waite, a representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is taken hostage by Iranian Hizballah terrorists in Beirut, Lebanon, and held until November 1991.

American citizens Jesse Turner , Alan Steen, Robert Polhill, and Mithileshwar Singh are kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in Beirut, Lebanon, and held until 1991.

Greece: "17 November" detonates bomb near bus carrying U.S. Airmen, 10 injured.

Sir Lanka: Grenade attack against Parliament kills one legislator.

Greece: U.S. commissary bombed, killing one; 17 November responsible.

United Kingdom: Thirteen killed by PIRA bomb during Remembrance Day celebration.

Korean Airlines Flight 858 blown up over Andaman Sea near Burma by two North Korean Agents; all 115 passengers killed.

The first Palestinian intifada (uprising) breaks out in the Israeli-occupied territories (the Gaza Strip and the West Bank). Palestinians go on strike, close their businesses, throw stones, burn tires in the streets, and erect barricades. The Israeli response uses tear gas, bullets, and mass detentions, among other tactics.

West Bank: Founding of The Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) by Shaykh Ahmad Yasin.

Al Qaeda (the Base) is organized from Osama bin Laden's former Mujahideen members.

While serving with the U.N. Truce Organization, U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins, the American Chief of the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization, is kidnapped and murdered in Southern Lebanon by the Iranian-backed Hizballah/Lebanese Party of God.

Iraq: Iraqi forces attack Halabja residents with chemical weapons.

Hizballah hijacks Kuwait Airways jet, killing two passengers; hijackers allowed to return to Algeria 16 days later.

A car bomb is detonated outside a USO hub in Naples, Italy, by the Organization of Jihad Brigades; one U.S. sailor is killed.

Greece: U.S. Defense Attache, Navy Captain William Nordeen, assassinated in Athens by "November 17."

Greece: Attack on island ferry kills nine and wounds 98; ANO responsible.

A bomb explodes in a C-130 Hercules aircraft just after take-off from Bahawalpu, Pakistan, killing Pakistani President General Zia Al Haq, a U.S. ambassador, and 37 others.

Saddam Hussein uses chemical weapons against the Kurds in Iraq.

Pan Am Boeing 747 flight 103 explodes and crashes in Lockerbie, Scotland, when a bomb planted by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and the Libyan government explodes; all 259 passengers are killed, including U.S. students and military personnel. Eleven also die on the ground.

The final Soviet withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: The Soviets install a new leader of Afghanistan, Mohammed Najibullah.

Germany: Court convicts Muhammad Ali Hamadi of hijacking TWA flight 847 in 1985.

Iran: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini dies after 10-year rule.

UTA Flight 772 to Paris explodes over Niger, killing 170; Libya held responsible.

Germany: Alfred Herrhausen, head of Deutsche Bank AG, assassinated; Red Army Faction suspected.

Iraq invades Kuwait.

The Persian Gulf War: Iraq invades Kuwait and annexes it as "the Iraqi province of Kuwait." The United States begins bombing Iraq and sends ground troops, quickly ousting Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Saddam Hussein remains in power.

Saudi Arabia rejects Osama bin Laden?s offer to assist in fighting Iraq and then permits U.S. troops to use its military bases, fueling Bin Laden's hatred of the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Operation Desert Storm air offensive begins.

United Kingdom: Attack on No. 10 Downing Street; motor rounds fired at Prime Minister John Major's residence injure three; PIRA responsible.

Iraq: Ground offensive launched in Operation Desert Storm.

India: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others killed by a female LTTE suicide bomber.

Japan: Hiroshi Igarashi, Japanese translator of "The Satanic Verses," assassinated by unknown gunmen.

France: Former Iranian Prime Minister Shapur Bakhtiar and his assistant assassinated in Paris.

Ethnic civil war under Taliban leadership in Kabul, Afghanistan; 50,000 are killed, mainly Persians.

Osama Bin Ladin proposes that Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian Shiite terrorist group, join in a common objective of killing U.S. Troops stationed in Asia and Africa.

Osama bin Laden establishes legal businesses (farms, a tannery, and a construction firm) in Sudan to increase his available funds for al Qaeda.

A Christian center in Argentina is bombed by Imad Mugniyah of Hizballah.

Lebanon: Hezbollah General Secretary Abbas Musawi killed in helicopter ambush.

Argentina: Car bomb destroys Israeli Embassy, killing 28 and wounding 220; Lebanese Hizballah claims responsibility.

Germany: Four Iranian Kurds killed in Berlin's Mykonos restaurant.

A hotel in Aden, Yemen, recently used by U.S. troops preparing to go to Somalia is bombed; two tourists are killed.

A gunman outside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Va., fires a high-powered rifle and kills two CIA employees. Three others are wounded. Mir Amal Kansi, a Pakistani immigrant living in Reston, Va., was charged with the crime. Agents testified that Kansi said he shot the employees in retaliation for U.S. policies against Muslims in the Middle East, including the bombing of Iraq.

The Day of Terror: A rented van packed with explosives explodes in the World Trade Center's underground garage; six people and an unborn child are killed, more than 1,040 are injured. The bomb plot includes a device designed to release cyanide gas that would kill emergency response crews and area residents, but the cyanide is destroyed in the fire. Four Islamic terrorists, including the Abu Sayyat group mastermind Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, carry out the attack. Osama bin Laden is suspected to be behind the plot, but denies involvement. Yousef wanted 250,000 deaths to result from the attack, and was quoted as saying, "Our calculations were not very accurate this time. However we promise you that next time it will be very precise and the Trade Center will be one of our targets." Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman of Egypt (the blind Sheik) is later given a life sentence in a U.S. medical center for federal prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, for his role in the bombing.

The World Trade Center bombing causes $500 million in damage.

India: Bomb attacks leav 250 dead, 700 wounded; Pakistan denies responsibility.

An attempt to assassinate U.S. President George Bush in Kuwait fails.

Sri Lanka: Suicide bomber kills President Premadasa during May Day celebration.

Jihad members attempt to assassinate Egyptian Interior Minister Hassan al Alfi, but fail.

Germany: Authorities storm KLM plane hijacked by Egyptian Islamic Jihad after last two hostages escape through cockpit window.

Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, and Yitzak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, sign the historic Declaration of Principles (Oslo Accords) on the lawn of the White House. The pact sets into motion a five-year transitional designed to lead toward autonomy for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

In Israel, 256 civilians and soldiers are killed by terrorist attacks in their nation.

Black Hawk Down: Two U.S. helicopters on a humanitarian mission are shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia, by militants trained by Al Qaeda using weapons supplied by Osama bin Laden and Mohammed Atef; 18 U.S. soldiers are killed, and some of their bodies are abused and dragged through the streets.

Norway: Norwegian publisher of "The Satanic Verses" shot three times by unknown gunman but survives.

A Jihad attempt to assassinate Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Sedky fails.

Osama bin Laden's citizenship is revoked by Saudi Arabia, and his family and friends publicly disown him because of his crimes.

Islamic Jihad and Hamas end their rivalry with the foundation of the Palestinian Authority; Hamas adopts a new strategy of suicide bombings.

Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO and President of the Palestinian National Authority; Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister of Israel; and Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, are all awarded the Noble Peace Prize for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.

Israel: Dr. Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli-American physician and member of the militant Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron, opens fire on early morning worshippers at the Machpelah Cave grave site of the Patriarch Abraham in Jerusalem (Tomb of the Patriarchs), killing 39 Muslim worshipers. Riots break out in the territories.

A plot between Yousef and the Abu Sayyat group to attack the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok with an ammonium nitrate fuel oil bomb fails when a truck carrying the bomb crashes; the driver of the truck is found dead, floating in the bomb mix.

A bomb planted in the Masshad Reza Shiite mosque in Iran explodes; 26 are killed and 170 injured. Yousef, who trained with Al Qaeda and the Abu Sayyat Group, is responsible for the bombing.

Japan: Sarin gas attack kills seven and wounds 600 in Matsumoto; Aum Shinrikyo responsoble.

The Jewish community headquarters (AMIA) in Buenos Aires is bombed, killing 87 people and wounding more than 100 others. Though Iran was suspected of involvement, the perpetrators have never been found. In 2005, an Argentine prosecutor said the AMIA bombing was carried out by a 21-year-old Lebanese suicide bomber who belonged to Hizballah.

Argentina: Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center bombed, killing nearly 100; Hizballah responsible.

Sudan: Carlos the Jackal (Ilich Ramirez-Sanchez) is arrested by the French Secret Service and is sentenced to life in prison in France.

Yousef and the Abu Sayyat group twice attempt to assassinate the future Pakistani Prime Minister in Pakistan; both attempts fail.

The Taliban militia conquers Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The Treaty of Peace: Jordan makes peace with Israel.

An Israeli cultural center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is bombed by Hizballah agents.

PAL flight 434, en route to Japan, is bombed; one passenger is killed. (The bomb is constructed by Yousef on the first leg of the two-leg flight using diluted nitroglycerine in a contact lens cleaner bottle and a wristwatch as a timer. Yousef leaves the plane before the second leg of the flight, avoiding the explosion.) The Abu Sayyat Group and Yousef carried out the attack as a "practice run" for their Bojinka plot, which would blow up 11 airliners with similar types of bombing devices.

An Air France jumbo jet laden with fuel is hijacked in a failed attempt to fly the plane to Paris to take down the Eiffel Tower. Algerian Islamic terrorists with ties to Osama bin Laden carry out the hijacking.

France: French Paratroopers storm hijacked Air France jet in Marseilles, killing hijackers and freeing passengers.

Investigators in the Philippines uncover plots to 1.) assassinate Pope John Paul II on a visit to Manila in January 1995; 2.) create undetectable bombs to be smuggled onto 11 U.S. jumbo jets entering the United States from Asia (this plot, called Bojinka, would blow up all 11 planes in a coordinated attack); 3.) coordinate training of Islamic pilots at U.S. schools and then fly airliners into buildings in the United States (including the CIA, the Pentagon, the World Trade Center, the Sears Tower, the Transamerica Tower, and a U.S. nuclear facility); and 4.) assassinate U.S. President Bill Clinton during visits to the Philippines. (The fourth plan was rejected to focus on the other three plots.)

Two U.S. diplomats are killed and a third wounded by unidentified gunmen at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. The gunmen, who were backed by Yousef and the Abu Sayyat Group, may have been acting in retaliation for the 1995 convictions of those involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Japan: Sarin attack kills 12 and sickens several but 6,000 seek medical care due to panic and hysteria; Aum Shinrikyo responsible.

An ammonium nitrate (fertilizer) based truck bomb is detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The building partilally collapses from the blast, killing 168 (including 19 children) and injuring 600. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, members of a U.S.-based anti-government militia, plan and carry out the attack. McVeigh found guilty and executed 11 June 2001. A manhunt for a third suspect is eventually dropped. "Yousef" is suspected to have designed the bomb for Terry Nichols while he was visiting the Philippines.

France: Six Iranians sentenced to life imprisonment for 1991 assassination of former Iranian Prime Minster.

An attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, fails. Osama bin Laden is suspected, but al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya responsible.

India: Al-Faran guerrillas kidnap two U.K. citizens and two U.S. citizens in Kashmir.

India: Al-Faran guerrillas kidnap Norwegian H.C. Ostroe and German Dirk Hasert in Kashmir.

France: Bomb kills seven and wounds 117 in Paris Saint-Michel Metro station; GIA Suspected.

France: Bomb explodes near "Arc de Triomphe" in Paris, wounding 17.

Israel: HAMAS bomber kills five, wounds 100 on Jerusalem bus.

Georgia: President Shevardnadze wounded in car bomb attack.

The U.S. embassy in Moscow, Russia, is attacked by rocket-propelled grenades, possibly in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Serb positions in Bosnia.

France: Car bomb explodes outside Jewish school in Lyon, wounding 14, GIA suspected.

U.S.: Shaykh Umar 'Abd al-Rahman ("The Blind Shayka") convicted in plot to blow up U.N. Headquarters and other landmarks in New York.

France: Paris Metro bombing wounds 30; GIA suspected.

Malta: Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leader Fathi al-Shaqaqi killed by unknown assassin.

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, by Yigal Amir, an Israeli Law Student and alleged member of a right-wing Israeli organization opposed to The Peace Process.

A Saudi National Guard training facility run by U.S. officials in Riyadh (U.S. Military Advisor's Facility), Saudi Arabia, is attacked by car bomb; seven are killed, more than 60 are wounded. In a separate incident, four anti-royal Saudi Arabian dissidents are beheaded. Islamic Movement for Change, the Tigers of the Gulf, and the Combatant Partisans of God claim responsibility.

Islamic Jihad explodes a truck bomb at the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; 15 are killed. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is suspected to be involved.

The Taliban takes control of Afghanistan and conquers Jalalabad and Kabul; Kabul University is shut down. Taliban law limits male students to a high school education and bans female students over the age of 12 from all schooling. The Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam political party in Pakistan assists in the organization of terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is expelled from Sudan and establishes a training facility near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, to develop al Qaeda into an international terrorist network.

Gaza Strip: HAMAS bomb maker Yahya Ayyash ("The Engineer") killed by booby-trapped cell phone.

US: Umar 'Abd al-Rahman (The "Blind Shaykh") sentenced to life for his role in 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Israel: HAMAS bombs buses in Jerusalem, killing 28 and wounding 80.

A U.S. Air Force flight crash kills U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others in Croatia. The crash is officially blamed on pilot error, poor equipment, and weather conditions (the plane was flying through a heavy rainstorm when it crashed), though rumors persist that the crash was not an accident.

A truck bomb is detonated outside the U.S. Air Force complex Khobar Towers in Dharan, Saudi Arabia; 19 U.S. servicemen are killed and 515 people are injured, including 240 U.S. citizens. The attack is blamed on the Movement for Islamic Change organization , but Hizballah ultimately determined responsible, with key suspects Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mughassil, Ibrahim al-Yacoub, and Abdel Karim al-Nasser.

TWA flight 800 en route from JFK airport to Paris crashes near Long Island; all 230 aboard are killed. The location of the explosion over the plane's fuel tank is identical to the point of detonation aboard PAL flight 434, a bombing that was carried out by Yousef. The explosion is immediately believed to be a terrorist attack, but eventually an electrical short is blamed and the investigation is shut down.

A bomb planted by the Algerian Armed Islamic Group explodes at the home of the French Archbishop of Oran in Algeria, killing the Archbishop and his chauffeur.

Osama bin Laden releases a written declaration of war against the United States, including a demand to withdraw U.S. troops and to overthrow the Saudi Arabian government.

The Taliban conquers the capital city of Kabul, Afghanistan, and hangs Mohammed Najibullah on a public street.

Greece: Bomb explodes under car of Greek NATO Officer in Athens; 17 November blamed.

Comoros Islands: Hijacked Ethiopian plane crashes, killing 127 including one American.

Peru: MRTA rebels take 700 hostages at the Japanese Ambassadors' residence in Lima; all are rebels killed in successful rescue.

Letter bombs with Alexandria, Egypt, postmarks are discovered at Al-Hayat newspaper bureaus and at a prison facility in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Leavenworth, Kansas; London, England; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A Palestinian gunman opens fire on an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and tourists from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and France. The gunman's suicide note claimed his attack was a punishment against "the enemies of Palestine."

Peru: Four-month hostage situation at Japanese Embassy ends with 17 dead, 71 freed; MRTA responsible.

A Taliban militia executes 11 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, after conquering the city.

Pakistan formally recognizes the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

Greece: Ship-owner Constantinos Peratikos slain in ambush by 17 "November."

Mohammed Abouhalima found guilty of helping his brother with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Egypt: Suspected leader of al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, Mustafa Abu-Rawwash, killed in Cairo; 40 members arrested.

Israel: Double suicide attack kills 16 and wounds 150 in Jerusalem; HAMAS responsible.

Egypt: Bomb attack on Cairo tourist bus by two Muslim Militants kills nine Germans.

Egypt: Three UIJ Leaders sentenced to death for Terrorist Acts.

Sri Lanka: LTTE truck bomb at hotel next to Trade Center in Colombo kills 18 and wounds more than 100, including seven U.S. Citizens.

Four U.S. auditors and a Pakistani driver are killed in Karachi, Pakistan, by the Islamic Inquilabi (Revolutionary) Council and the Aimal Khufia Action Committee. The attack may have been carried out in retaliation for the U.S. conviction of Pakistanis who murdered two CIA agents.

Six militants claiming to be members of Al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Group) and a combination of "Talaa Al Fath" and its parent group Jihad massacre 71 foreign tourists at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, Egypt.

India arrests Ghulam Nabi Baba, leader of Harakat-ul-Ansor, accused of involvement in kidnapping of six Western Tourists.

Egypt: Security Forces kill 'Abd al-Hafiz, al-Gama' at al-Islamiyya leader responsible for Luxor attack.

France: "Carlos The Jackal" sentenced to life for three murders in 1975.

The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (with prayer houses in Ashland, Oregon, and Springfield, Missouri), raises over $30 million a year; part of these funds are directed to Osama bin Laden. The Global Relief Foundation in Chicago, Ill., knowingly or unknowingly raises more than $5 million per year to be given to bin Laden.

Osama bin Laden releases a declaration stating that, "To kill Americans and their allies, civilians, and military is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it, in any country in which it is possible to do it." Bin Laden also stated in an interview, "Our battle against the Americans is far greater than our battle was against the Russians. We anticipate a black future for America. Instead of remaining United States, it shall end up separated states and shall have to carry the bodies of its sons back to America."

The United Nations is forced out of Iraq; an announcement is made that Saddam Hussein produced thousands of liters of weaponized anthrax and botulinum toxin, more than enough to kill every human on earth.

US: Ramzi Ahmed Yousef sentenced to life plus 240 years for 1993 World Trade Center bombings.

Japan: Japanese Red Army member Tustomu Shiosaki sentenced to 30 years for attack on U.S. Embassy in Indonesia.

Worldwide: Usama Bin Ladin and al-Qa'ida issue fatwa urging the murder of Americans wherever they are found (Western calendar date).

Sri Lanka: Bus bomb kills 37 and wounds more than 250; LTTE blamed.

Algeria: Seven CIA extremists sentenced to death for assassinating Archbishop of Oran.

Germany: Red Army Faction announces dissolution.

Japan: Doctor Ikuo Hayashi convicted in Aum Shinrikyo sarin attack in 1995.

The U.S. embassy in Lebanon, Beirut, is attacked by rocket-propelled grenades.

The U.N. General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to give Palestinians a larger role in the U.N. The Palestinians hail the vote as a first step toward full U.N. membership.

The Taliban government of Afghanistan murders 4,000 to 6,000 people of the Hazara ethnic group and of the Shi'ite sect of Islam.

Truck bombs are detonated almost simultaneously outside two U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 including 12 U.S. Citizens, and injuring more than 5,000. The attacks are carried out by 22 al Qaeda members, including Osama bin Laden.

The United States retaliates for the attack against U.S. Embassies by bombing key targets in Afghanistan and Sudan with cruise missiles. Osama bin Laden is targeted in the attack, but escapes from a training camp in Khost, Afghanistan, before it is hit.

West Bank: HAMMAS master bomber Muhi al-Din Sharif killed in Ramallah.

Greece: Rocket attack damages U.S. Citibank and other buildings; "17 November" claims responsibility on 9 April 2001.

Algeria: GIA leader in Algiers, Khalifi Athmane, among 11 rebels killed by government.

Colombia: ELN and FARC coordinate attacks that kill 106 soldiers and six civilians.

Afghanistan, Sudan: U.S. cruse missiles strike against terrorist locations in retaliation for African Embassy bombings.

Sri Lanka: Lionair flight from Jaffna to Colombo shot down, killing 55; LTTE blamed.

The U.S. Justice Department indicts Osama bin Laden for the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The 11-year-old son of a U.S. businessman is kidnapped, held for $1 million ransom, and later released.

Philippines: Libyan-trained Abu Sayyaf Group leader Abdurajak Abubaker Janjalani dies in gunfight with authorities on Basilan Island.

The Aden Abyan Islamic Army takes 17 western tourists hostage in Yemen.

The wife and son of Afghan political moderate Abdul Haq are killed in their home in Peshawar, Pakistan.

The U.S. Justice Department indicts Osama bin Laden and 11 other al Qaeda members. Osama bin Laden is added to the FBI's Most Wanted list.

France: GIA ringleaders sentenced to eight years for terrorist acts; 84 others sentenced in mass trial.

Turkey: PPK leader Abdullah Ocalan arrested and returned to Turkey; arrest sparks Kurdish protests across Europe.

Turkey: Suspected PPK suicide bomber kills three in Batman.

Venezuela: Bodies of three U.S. Peace Activists found; FARC responsible.

Bangladesh: Two bombs kill 10 and wound 75 at political meeting; Harakat-ul-Jihad backed by Bin Laden suspected.

Colombia: FARC founders Miguel Pascua and Commandante Oscar killed during raid in Cali.

Colombia: FARC leader Vladimir Gonzales Obregon killed by Army.

Turkey: Bombing at shopping center kills three and wounds six; Revenge Falcons of Apo Claims responsibility.

Mohammed Jehanzeb, Secretary of the Anti-Taliban organizer Haji Qadir, is assassinated in Peshawar, Pakistan.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission condemns the Taliban government for Afghanistan's human rights abuses. Afghanistan is designated a "terrorist-sponsored state."

Greece: Anti-NATO bombing in hotel kills one and wounds one; "Revolutionary Cells" responsible.

India: Death sentence upheld for four of 26 convicted in conspiracy to kill Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Turkey: Ex-PKK deputy Semdin Sakik sentenced to death for Treason.

Turkey: Police kill two DHKP/C terrorists preparing to attack U.S. Consulate.

Turkey: PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan sentenced to be hanged for treason.

India: Muslim militants storm Kashmir paramilitary camp, four killed and 12 kidnapped.

Spain: Government releases two former ETA leaders in hope of ending years of killing in Basque country.

Pakistan: Two Mohajir Qaumi Movement members sentenced to death for murder of four U.S. Citizens.

Yemen: Car bomb kills six and wounds 12; Army of Aden-Abyan suspected.

Sir Lanka: LTTE suicide bombrer kills top Tamil Militia leader who supported Sir Lanka Army.

Russia: Bombing of apartment building in Dagestan kills 64.

Russia: Bombing of Moscow apartment building kills 94; Islamic Dagestan Liberation Army claims responsibility.

The United Nations Security Council resolves that the Taliban must turn over Osama bin Laden.

A plot to kill U.S. and Israeli millennium celebrators by bombing a fully booked hotel and prominent Christian sites in Amman, Jordan, is thwarted by a trip to intelligence officials.

U.N. General Assembly adopts International Convention for the Suppression of Financing Terrorism.

Ahmed Ressam's plot to blow up LAX airport is thwarted when U.S. Customs Agents find explosives in the trunk of the vehicle he as attempting to drive across the Canadian-U.S. Boarder at Port Angeles, WA.

Sri Lanka: Suicide Bomber at election rally kills 23 and wounds 100, including The President; bomb attack at opposition rally kills 11; LTTE blamed in both cases.

Ecuador: Seven Canadians and one U.S. hostage freed by FARC.