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Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Details: Terrorists firebombed Maron's home, which also serves as a Jewish book center, but he and his family escaped unharmed.
547. Date: February 9, 1998
Target: President Eduard Shevardnadze
Location: Tbilisi, Georgia
Details: Shevardnadze was returning to his official residence when gunmen opened fire with a grenade launcher and machine guns on the four-car motorcade. The attack took place about a kilometer (.6 mile) from Shevardnadze's residence. The gunmen were hiding behind trees on a small hill overlooking the road. The front of Shevardnadze's armored Mercedes was badly damaged when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the front. Two other cars in the motorcade were badly burned. A bodyguard in Shevardnadze's car was killed. Two other bodyguards were injured in the 10-minute gun battle that followed. The president was taken to his residence in a police car. Shevardnadze was shown later on state television and appeared to be uninjured. Police and troops flooded the area, searching vehicles and buildings after the attack. They recovered a videotape of the attack taken by the attackers. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
548. Date: November 5, 1998
Target: President Boris Yeltsin
Location: Moscow, Russia
Details: A man drove his car across Red Square to the Spassky Gate, the main gate of the Kremlin. He jumped out and detonated a bomb in the car. He then tried to shoot himself with a pistol, but was apprehended. The blast was reported to have had the force of 13 pounds of dynamite. Kremlin guards found another, stronger bomb soon after the explosion and defused it. Two Kremlin guards, one presidential guard, and the driver were injured. The gate was slightly damaged.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
549. Date: November 7, 1998
Target: Judge Salah Badour
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Details: Badour was en route home from a resort when gunmen fired at his car. They hit the car, but caused no injuries. Badour's driver returned fire. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
550. Date: January 2, 1999
Target: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Location: Raiwind, Pakistan
Details: A time bomb destroyed a bridge two miles from Sharif's home, at the time that he was expected to cross it on his way home. Sharif was running behind schedule. The explosion killed three civilians and a policeman. Three other policemen were wounded. Sharif and his family used a helicopter to return home.
551. Date: March 21, 1999
Target: President Aslan Maskhadov
Location: Grozny, Chechnya
Details: Maskhadov narrowly survived an assassination attempt when an explosion rocked his motorcade as it passed by. Maskhadov was unhurt. A few bodyguards were wounded. Maskhadov was returning from a meeting with oil industry officials. The explosion occurred about 660 feet from the presidential residence. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
552. Date: May 2, 1999
Target: Deputy Minister Izzat Ibrahim
Location: Kerbala, Iraq
Details: Ibrahim narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when assailants threw two grenades at him as he got out of his car. Several bodyguards and bystanders were wounded, but Ibrahim was unhurt.
553. Date: May 14, 1999
Target: Ambassador Karl-Heinz Albert Kuhna
Location: Athens, Greece
Details: An anti-tank rocket hit Kuhna's residence, damaging the home but causing no injuries. Kuhna and his wife were home at the time of the attack, late in the evening. The rocket landed on the roof and detonated. Police found a makeshift launch tube in an empty lot more than 100 yards from the heavily guarded residence. The tube had broken in half, apparently from the launch. The only terrorist group in Greece known to use such rockets is November 17.
554. Date: July 22, 1999
Target: Uday Hussein (President Hussein's son)
Location: Baghdad, Iraq
Details: Uday was attacked in an assassination attempt by opposition forces. An armed group exchanged gunshots with Uday's bodyguards in front of a horse-riding club belonging to the president's son. One of his bodyguards died in the attack. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
555. Date: August 15, 1999
Target: Drug Commander Mariano Herran Salvatti
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Details: Salvatti and his wife were riding in their car when two gunmen, each riding on the back of a motorcycle, pulled alongside and opened fire. One bodyguard was wounded in the leg, and one of the attackers was wounded three times and captured. The Salvatti's were unharmed. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
556. Date: September 2, 1999
Target: Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan
Location: Baghdad, Iraq
Details: Ramadan escaped assassination when armed dissidents dressed in Iraqi army uniforms opened fire on his motorcade while he was en route from Tikrit to Baghdad. Two of Ramadan's bodyguards were killed and three were wounded. One of the attackers was killed and the others escaped. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
557. Date: November 29, 1999
Target: Chief Minister S. C. Jamir
Location: Piphema Village, India
Details: Jamir escaped an assassination attempt unharmed when a group of twenty separatist rebels hurled grenades and sprayed his car with bullets for 15 minutes. Two of his bodyguards were killed. It was the third assassination attempt on Jamir. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
558. Date: December 12, 1999
Target: Governor Bola Tinubu
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Details: Tinubu escaped unharmed when an armed gang opened fire on a convoy carrying him, and bodyguards shot and killed four assailants. The motorcade was returning to his official residence in the early hours from an inspection when it was blocked and fired on in the attack. Seven people arrested at the scene claimed to have been sent to the area by a militant group "to look for armed robbers." (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
559. Date: January 5, 2000
Target: Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: A guard became suspicious of a woman outside of Bandaranaike's office and conducted an identity check. She claimed to be Sinhalese, but couldn't speak the language properly. When the officer called for a Tamil translator, she set off a bomb strapped under her clothing, killing herself and 12 others, and wounding 28. Bandaranaike was not injured. The woman was later identified as a member of the Black Tigers terrorist group. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
560. Date: March 10, 2000
Target: Cabinet Ministers
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: A bomber blew himself up, killing 18 others, including five police officers, and wounding 46 on a busy city street. The attack appeared to be targeted at a motorcade for cabinet ministers that was about to leave, or the defense minister, who was in meetings at the Parliament nearby. The bomb apparently went off prematurely as the bomber positioned himself near the motorcade.
561. Date: October 2, 2000
Target: Deputy Minister M.L.M. Hisbullah
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: A remote-controlled roadside bomb exploded as Hisbullah was driven past, but he escaped harm. It was the second assassination attempt on him in three days. The Tamil Tiger rebels were blamed.
562. Date: November 9, 2000
Target: Mayor Edi Rama
Location: Triana, Albania
Details: Newly
-elected Mayor Rama escaped injury when a sniper fired shots into his apartment. Rama blamed opposition leader Sali Berisha for the attack. Rama was brutally beaten by three men in 1996, when Berisha was president.
563. Date: January 14, 2001
Target: Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah
Location: Srinagar, India
Details: As Abdullah spoke at the opening of a new bridge, two rifle-grenades were fired from a distance, one exploding 100 feet from Abdullah and the other exploding on the roof of a nearby house. After the explosions, security personnel fired into the air for several minutes adding to the panic. There were no reported casualties among the 700 people attending. Islamic militants were blamed.
564. Date: February 16, 2001
Target: Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic
Location: Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Details: As Mihajlovic's motorcade entered the city, a gunman opened fire with a pistol. Mihajlovic's car sped away, but some of his bodyguards remained behind and got involved in a gunfight. Four people were taken into custody. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
565. Date: March 3, 2001
Target: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Details: Shinawatra was riding in a motorcade, en route to the Bangkok International Airport to catch a Thai Airways Boeing 737-400 flight, when a bomb on the plane exploded, killing a crew- member and injuring seven, and completely destroying the plane. The bomb exploded 35 minutes before its scheduled departure. None of the 149 passengers or pilots had boarded, and the engines had not been started. The bomb was placed near where Shinawatra was assigned to sit.
566. Date: June 17, 2001
Target: Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Details: Gunmen opened fire on Zia's motorcade, striking a van carrying the bodyguards just behind her vehicle. No one was injured. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
567. Date: July 18, 2001
Target: Central Bank Governor Guillermo Ortiz
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Details: Assailants fired shots outside Ortiz's home, injuring his bodyguard. Ortiz was not injured. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
568. Date: July 29, 2001
Target: Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski
Location: Grupcin, Macedonia
Details: Gunmen ambushed Boskovski's motorcade from both sides of the road, spraying his car with gunfire. His bodyguards returned fire in a gun battle that lasted five minutes. Boskovski was not injured in the attack. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
569. Date: November 10, 2001
Target: King Fahd
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Details: A man drove his car into King Fahd's heavily guarded motorcade, attempting to crash into Fahd's limousine. He missed, struck another vehicle, and was taken into custody. Sources later said that no weapons or explosives were found, and it did not appear to be a terrorist attack. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
570. Date: December 13, 2001
Target: Members of Parliament
Location: New Delhi, India
Details: A car containing six gunmen sped through a gate and into a parking lot next to the Parliament Building. One militant jumped out and blew himself up with a suicide bomb. The others opened fire on police and security guards, killing an army commando and six officers. During a 90-minute gun battle, the terrorists fired hundreds of rounds, and then began throwing hand grenades, before all of the terrorists were killed. The Parliament members were evacuated, and police found and set off a remaining bomb and several hand grenades. The gunmen had driven through the Parliament gates in an Ambassador car of the kind used by government officials. A siren on the car was wailing and official stickers from Parliament and the Home Ministry were affixed to the windshield. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
571. Date: February 1, 2002
Target: Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah
Location: Mogadishu, Somalia
Details: Four people were injured, two seriously, when a hand grenade was thrown into Farah's residence. Farah escaped uninjured, but two of his bodyguards were among the injured. Farah later told reporters there was a possibility the hand grenade may have been dropped accidentally by one of his bodyguards.
572. Date: May 31, 2002
Target: Chief Administrator Farooq Abdullah
Location: Bemina, India
Details: At a building dedication ceremony, Islamic terrorists fired two grenades at Farooq. One grenade exploded in midair and the other landed in a nearby pond. No one was hurt in the attack. Abdullah is one of the most well guarded politicians in India. He travels in a armored car, his motorcade carries powerful electronic jammers to prevent a remote-controlled bomb, and elite commandos called the Black Cats guard him at all times.
573. Date: June 8, 2002
Target: Premier Costas Simitis
Location: Athens, Greece
Details: Dimitris Aivatzidas fired shots outside a drug clinic and snatched a handgun from a guard at a police station near Simitis's residence. He then fired a shotgun at Simitis's home and was arrested after a gun battle with members of the prime minister's guard. He suffered gunshot wounds in the hand and wrist and was hospitalized. Simitis was home but not injured. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
574. Date: June 20, 2002
Target: Deputy Mayor Iosif Ordzhonikidze
Location: Moscow, Russia
Details: Ordzhonikidze was being driven through early morning rush hour traffic. Unidentified gunmen drove past Ordzhonikidze's car, then cut him off and fired about 30 rounds through the windshield of his car before speeding away. A bodyguard got out of the car and returned fire. Ordzhonikidze was not injured, but a bodyguard and a student riding on a near-by bus were wounded. Immediately after the shooting, Ordzhonikidze's car was rammed from behind in an apparent accident. Police found the attacker's car a short distance away, completely burned with a body inside. (3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)
575. Date: July 14, 2002
Target: President Jacques Chirac
Location: Paris, France
Details: Chirac was riding in an open vehicle as part of France's Bastille Day military parade. Maxime Brunerie pulled a .22 caliber rifle from a guitar case and fired a shot at Chirac as he was passing by about 50 yards away. The shot missed. At least one spectator grabbed the rifle barrel and wrestled Brunerie to the ground. As he was being apprehended, Brunerie tried to shoot himself but failed. The day before the attack, Brunerie posted a message to his friends at a web site: "Watch the TV this Sunday, I will be the star." Brunerie later said he regretted not killing himself immediately afterward because he wanted to die famously.
576. Date: August 7, 2002
Target: President Alvaro Uribe
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Details: As Uribe walked into the Parliament building to be sworn into office, three blasts exploded from mortar fire launched from a house one mile away. Two rounds went off adjacent to the palace, wounding a policeman, and killing three. Another round exploded a few blocks from the Parliament in a poor neighborhood, killing more than 20. Uribe had moved the ceremony, normally held outdoors, inside the Parliament building for security reasons. Uribe did not mention the explosions in his inaugural address. FARC rebels were blamed. Uribe has been the target of over a half dozen assassination attempts.
577. Date: September 5, 2002
Target: President Hamid Karzai
Location: Kandahar, Afghanistan
Details: Karzai was in the back seat o
f his car with Governor Gul Agha Sherzai with his window rolled partially down as they were about to leave the governor's palace. A would-be assassin, dressed in a security uniform, emerged from the crowd and fired four to eight rounds at Karzai's car with a Makarov pistol. The bullets missed Karzai, but one grazed the neck of Sherzai. A shopkeeper in the crowd wrestled the gunman to the ground and a young boy jumped in to help. Karzai's American Special Forces bodyguards returned fire, killing the gunman, and both civilians. The gunman, a member of the Taliban, had been hired seventeen days before as a security guard at the governor's mansion. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)
578. Date: September 21, 2002
Target: Tourism Minister Sakina Yatoo
Location: Kulgam Village, India
Details: Yatoo's motorcade was en route to a campaign stop when a remote-controlled bomb was set off. Gunmen then surrounded her car and opened fire, killing two of her bodyguards and a local resident. Yatoo survived due to her armored vehicle. It was the second attack on her motorcade in less than a week; the first was on September 15. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
579. Date: October 7, 2002
Target: Governor Hakim Taniwal
Location: Dowmanda, Afghanistan
Details: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Taniwal's six-vehicle motorcade, killing two of his bodyguards and wounding four others. Taniwal was unharmed and the gunmen, probable al-Qaeda terrorists, escaped. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
580. Date: November 25, 2002
Target: President Saparmurat Niyazov
Location: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Details: Gunmen in a truck opened fire with submachine guns on Niyazov's motorcade as it was traveling through the capitol. He was unhurt, but four police officers were wounded. (2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)
581. Date: January 24, 2003
Target: Agriculture Minister K. Ranjit Singh and Social Welfare Minister Korung Thung
Location: Thingkhangpi, India
Details: Rebels attacked a convoy carrying both state ministers, but were repelled by security forces escorting the convoy. Neither minister was injured. (4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)