278. Date: June 29, 1997
Target: Legislative Candidate Mohammad R. Bangi
Location: Kashmir
Details: A blast in a high-security complex for state lawmakers who have been threatened, killed Bangi and two guests, and wounded two others. The complex is one of the most well guarded buildings in the city.
279. Date: August 8, 1997
Target: Senator Jorge Cristo
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: Six assailants (two men and four women) shot Cristo six times after getting out of his car outside his office. His bodyguard was also killed. Police blamed leftist guerrillas. Cristo was a close political ally of President Samper.
280. Date: September 25, 1997
Target: Hamas Leader Khalid Mashaal
Location: Amman, Jordan
Details: Two Mossad agents injected poison into Mashaal's ear as he entered his office. He collapsed and was hospitalized with breathing problems, but recovered. Mashaal's bodyguards chased down and captured the agents. Israeli President Netanyahu was blamed for the assassination attempt. Mashaal is the top figure in Hamas, which has killed many Israeli citizens.
281. Date: October 24, 1997
Target: Business Leader Zoran Todorovic
Location: Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Details: A gunman shot Todorovic in the head at close range as he got out of his Mercedes at the office, killing him. His bodyguard was shot and seriously wounded. The gunman fled down the crowded streets and escaped. Todorovic was the third high-ranking member of President Milosevic's circle to be gunned down this year.
282. Date: November 6, 1997
Target: Venezuelan Ambassador Alfredo Enrique Vargas
Location: Kingston, Jamaica
Details: A gunman shot and killed Vargas in his third floor apartment.
283. Date: November 8, 1997
Target: Sunni Secretary General Nadeem Iqbal Awan
Location: Multan, Pakistan
Details: Two gunmen on a motorcycle sped up to Awan's office and shot him through the door, killing him and wounding his associate. The attack was believed to be religiously motivated.
284. Date: November 12, 1997
Target: U.S. Businessmen
Location: Karachi, Pakistan
Details: Four oil company workers left their hotel in a company station wagon with their driver en route to the office. Barely 500 yards from the hotel a car intercepted them as they inched along in heavy traffic and two gunmen opened fire, killing everyone. The gunmen then casually drove away. The killings came two days after a U.S. court convicted Pakistani terrorist Mir Aimal Kasi for killing two CIA employees in 1993. The judge presiding over Kasi's trial quickly tightened security around the jurors.
285. Date: November 23, 1997
Target: Mafia Boss Antonino Geraci
Location: Palermo, Italy
Details: Gunmen shot Geraci, a convicted Mafia boss, in the head five times while he was in his car. He had finished a jail sentence from his 1987 conviction and visited Palermo for medical appointments.
286. Date: November 27, 1997
Target: Magazine Editor Jesus Blancornelas
Location: Tijuana, Mexico
Details: Gunmen shot and seriously wounded Blancornelas in the back, chest, and hand while he was riding in his car at 9:30 a.m. His bodyguard was killed. Blancornelas had won awards for his investigative reporting on political assassinations and drug dealing. The attack occurred just one week after bodyguards assigned to the journalist by the Baja California state government were withdrawn by that same government.
287. Date: January 15, 1998
Target: Crime Unit Director Ruslan Gitinov
Location: Dagestan, Russia
Details: Unknown assailants opened fire on Gitinov's car as he was traveling home. A brief but fierce shoot-out between his bodyguards and the gunmen occurred. Gitinov was wounded in the shoulder and his driver received a severe head wound. It was not his first attack. A bomb had been placed along his motorcade route about six weeks before this incident, but the bomb had exploded before he reached it. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
288. Date: May 17, 1998
Target: Mayor Sarojini Yogeswaran
Location: Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Details: Yogeswaran was killed at her home at 10.30 a.m., as two men reportedly arrived at her house and asked to speak to her. When she invited them inside, one of them shot her ten to 12 times. She was unarmed and had no bodyguards. She had entered politics after the assassination of her husband, Vettival Yogeswaran, who was killed in 1989.
289. Date: May 28, 1998
Target: Provincial Legislator
Location: Srinagar, India
Details: A legislator, his driver, a bodyguard, and three others were injured seriously when a bomb detonated. Though their armored car was totally destroyed, the occupants all survived. Pakistani-supported Muslim militants are suspected. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
290. Date: June 1, 1998
Target: Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi
Location: Dirnah, Libya
Details: While en route to Egypt for an official visit, Gaddafi's motorcade stopped on the road. Several gunmen opened fire from the surrounding mountains. Gaddafi was injured in the elbow and his top bodyguard, a woman known as Aisha, was shot dead when she shielded him. Sixteen other bodyguards were killed, and seven more were seriously wounded. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
291. Date: June 25, 1998
Target: Town Councilor Manuel Zamarreno
Location: Bilbao, Spain
Details: Following his daily routine of walking from his home to the bakery for a loaf of bread, Zamarreno died when he walked past a remote-controlled bomb and it was detonated. The device was hidden on a motorcycle, which was parked next to his car. His bodyguard was walking ten feet behind him and was wounded by shrapnel. Zamarreno was the sixth town councilor killed by ETA terrorists in the past 12 months.
292. Date: July 14, 1998
Target: Deputy Administrator Jose Jimenez
Location: Manila, Philippines
Details: Three men in hoods blocked Jimenez's car while he was en route to work. They opened fire with automatic weapons, shooting him 16 times, and wounding his driver.
293. Date: July 23, 1998
Target: President Aslan Maskhadov
Location: Grozny, Russia
Details: A car bomb exploded as Maskhadov's motorcade passed by en route to his office, killing the driver and a bodyguard and wounding several others, including Maskhadov. The blast wrecked his armored Chevrolet Caprice. Maskhadov sprang from the smoking wreckage. He later stated, "To my great regret, my best bodyguard was killed." On July 29, he received a new armored Mercedes as a replacement vehicle. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
294. Date: August 7, 1998
Target: U.S. Ambassador Prudence Bushnell
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Details: A van carrying five men drove to the entrance of the embassy's underground garage. Security guard Joash Okindo and his colleagues, armed only with short wooden clubs, confronted the men, stopping them at a barrier to the embassy's front parking lot, and forcing them to turn into the rear parking lot. The attackers then jumped from the truck and opened fire with automatic rifles. At least one Marine returned fire, and one of the attackers threw a hand grenade. Moments later, the truck exploded, killing 212 and wounding 5,400, including Bushnell. The guards kept the truck from entering the garage, where it would have caused even more death. Another 11 people were killed and 85 were injured in a simultaneous bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Tanzania. That bomb was attached to a water truck that served the embassy and was triggered by remote control, apparently without the driver's knowledge. U.S
. federal prosecutors have charged 17 people in New York in the bombings. Nine suspects were still at large in 2006, including Osama bin Laden, accused of ordering the attacks.
295. Date: September 3, 1998
Target: Mayor Yuri Timoshkov
Location: Nizhnevartovsk, Russia
Details: Timoshkov, his driver, and his bodyguard were hurt when a car bomb exploded as they drove past it. It was the second assassination attempt against him.
296. Date: September 11, 1998
Target: Mayor Ponnuthurai Sivapalan
Location: Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Details: Separatist Tamil rebels bombed city hall, killing the mayor and 19 others. At least 20 others were wounded in the blast that destroyed much of the mayor's office, flinging sections of the roof up to 300 feet away. It came just four months after the mayor's predecessor was assassinated.
297. Date: September 12, 1998
Target: Party Leader Azem Haidari
Location: Tirana, Albania
Details: Gunmen assassinated Haidari with automatic weapons as he emerged from his political party's headquarters. He was hit by shots fired from two cars parked next to the building, and died a short time later at the hospital. One of his two bodyguards was also killed. Nearly a year ago, he was shot and badly wounded in Parliament by a rival legislator.
298. Date: September 15, 1998
Target: Congressman Jorge Humberto Gonzalez
Location: Medellin, Colombia
Details: Gonzalez was shot and killed by two motorcycle gunmen as he stopped his car at a traffic light. He was shot four times in the head, and died 15 minutes after being rushed to the hospital. His wife and driver were also in the car but escaped injury in the attack.
299. Date: September 22, 1998
Target: Defense Minister Ahmet Krasniqi
Location: Tirana, Albania
Details: Krasniqi was shot and killed by gunmen while entering his home. Police found three 9mm shell casings at the scene.
300. Date: October 25, 1998
Target: General Shaid Bargishev
Location: Grozny, Chechnya
Details: A remote-controlled bomb planted on the parking lot exploded as Bargishev was getting out of his car outside his office. The blast blew off both of his legs and he died at the hospital. Two bodyguards were injured in the blast. His unit was combating kidnappers.
301. Date: November 22, 1998
Target: Lawmaker Galina Starovoitova
Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Details: Starovoitova was gunned down while climbing the stairs to her apartment as she returned home.
302. Date: March 1, 1999
Target: Senator Jean-Yvon Toussaint
Location: Delmas, Haiti
Details: Toussaint was shot and killed in front of his home by unknown gunmen.
303. Date: March 5, 1999
Target: Governor Ayhan Cevik
Location: Ankara, Turkey
Details: A car bomb exploded as Cevik's car drove past en route to his office. Three people were killed, and ten were injured, including Cevik.
304. Date: March 15, 1999
Target: Attorney Rosemary Nelson
Location: Lurgan, Northern Ireland
Details: Nelson drove away from her home when a bomb exploded, blowing both of her legs off. The bomb was apparently attached to her car while she was gone for the weekend. She had represented Catholics in several highprofile cases.
305. Date: March 16, 1999
Target: Deputy Interior Minister Jozo Leutar
Location: Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Details: A bomb explosion wrecked Leutar's car, critically injuring him, his driver, and another passenger.
306. Date: March 23, 1999
Target: Vice President Luis Maria Argana
Location: Asuncion, Paraguay
Details: The assassination took place about 8:50 a.m. when a car intercepted the vice president's car as he was being driven to his office. Four gunmen dressed in military camouflage uniforms and armed with an M-16 rifle, a shotgun, and hand grenades unleashed a barrage that killed Argana and his driver, and wounded two bodyguards, one critically. The assassins piled out and finished off the vice president at close range. Television footage showed a bodyguard walking in a daze at the scene, his face a mask of blood, calling for help over a hand radio. Argana slumped in the back seat of his bullet-riddled car.
307. Date: April 9, 1999
Target: President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara
Location: Niamey, Niger
Details: As Mainassara walked across the airport tarmac to board his helicopter, members of the Presidential Guard opened fire on him with a truck-mounted machine gun, killing him. Then other soldiers joined in, firing also at presidential bodyguards who moved to rescue Mainassara. The chief bodyguard was killed when he tried to return fire. Three soldiers and one civilian were killed, and about six were wounded.
308. Date: April 20, 1999
Target: Nationalist Leader Yuri Belyayev
Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Details: Belyayev was getting into his Jeep Wrangler outside his home when a sniper opened fire from a rooftop with a machine pistol. The first five 9mm bullets struck Belyayev, before his two bodyguards shielded his body, and he survived. His bodyguards were struck with another 15 bullets and were killed. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
309. Date: April 26, 1999
Target: Television Newscaster Jill Dando
Location: Fulham, England
Details: Dando, a popular figure on a television crime show, was shot once in the side of her head with a 9mm pistol on the doorstep of her home. The killer calmly walked away.
310. Date: May 15, 1999
Target: Lawmaker Abdul Ahad Kar
Location: Langet, India
Details: Kar stepped out of his home and was shot and killed by two gunmen, who were suspected separatists. They fled the scene and escaped. He was the second party official to be killed within 24 hours.
311. Date: May 20, 1999
Target: Massimo D'Antona, consultant and assistant to Italian Labor Minister
Location: Bologna, Italy
Details: Two gunmen, one on foot and the other aboard a scooter, approached Biagi as he was riding his bicycle home in downtown Bologna. They shot him at least three times with 9mm pistols. He had just returned home by train from Modena where he had taught at the university. Officials believed the assassination was politically motivated and masterminded by a leftist terrorist group.
312. Date: July 29, 1999
Target: Parliamentarian Neelan Thiruchelvam
Location: Colomo, Sri Lanka
Details: Thiruchelvam died instantly when a suicide bomber, strapped with explosives, threw himself on the lawmaker's car. The assailant was also killed, while Thiruchelvam's five police bodyguards, his driver, and a bystander were wounded. Thiruchelvam's car was caught up in a traffic snarl near Rosmead Place when a motorcycle carrying two people drove up. One of the people on the bike threw himself at the car, and set off the blast that killed Thiruchelvam. The motorcycle rider escaped before police sealed off the area.
313. Date: September 6, 1999
Target: President Hosni Mubarak
Location: Port Said, Egypt
Details: A man rushed toward Mubarak's armored limousine as he was reaching out the window and waving to passing crowds. The man cut Mubarak's finger with a sharp tool before bodyguards shot and killed him. Mubarak's wound was treated with a disinfectant and he went on to deliver a speech, in which he said nothing about the attack. Mubarak survived at least three assassination attempts. One of his guards suffered a cut finger, some said from a bullet and others said from the assassin's tool. Officers were reportedly sent to the attacker's home on the day before Mubarak's visit to detain him as a known troublemaker. However, instead of knocking on his door, the officers merely asked neighbors if he wa
s around and failed to find him. Three senior security chiefs were transferred to other assignments following the attack. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
314. Date: October 27, 1999
Target: Political Satirist Jaime Garzon
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: A motorcycle assassin gunned down Garzon as he drove to work at Radionet, the all-news network where he was a morning show co-host. He was stopped at a red light when a gunman approached the car and pumped five shots into his head and chest. Garzon was the most prominent Colombian assassinated since the November 1995 killing of Alvaro Gomez, then leader of the political opposition. He had received death threats from right-wing paramilitary militias, although he refused bodyguards. The government announced a $270,000 reward for the killers and said 600 motorcycles fitting the description of the one used in the killing were impounded so they could be investigated.
315. Date: October 27, 1999
Target: Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian
Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Details: Five nationalist gunmen apparently hid their automatic weapons under their long overcoats and were not challenged by security guards. They burst into the Parliament chamber and killed Sarkisian, Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchian, and six top officials. Nine other lawmakers were wounded. They held some 40 hostages until they surrendered on October 28. On November 6, a lawmaker was arrested for orchestrating the attack.
316. Date: October 31, 1999
Target: Political Leader Momcilo Trajkovic
Location: Pristina, Kosovo
Details: Trajkovic was shot and wounded in the right leg by two assailants at 10:45 p.m. when he went to open the door of his third floor apartment after somebody rang the bell. He was normally under KFOR protection but had asked for the guard to be removed so he could meet privately with family members. He was shot while in the doorway of his flat but was able to slam the door on his attackers. There was a bullet hole in a pane of glass alongside the door.
317. Date: November 2, 1999
Target: Parliament Member Ramesh Nadarajah
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
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