This is a timeline of incidents in 2002 that have been labelled as "terrorism" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism).
Total incidents listed:
| Date | Type | Deaths | Injuries | Location | Details | Perpetrator(s) | Part of | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Attack attempt | 0 | 0 | Singapore embassies attack plot foiled. | Jemaah Islamiyah | |||
| January 17 | Shooting | 6 (+1) | 33 | Hadera, Israel | Bat Mitzvah massacre A Palestinian gunman opened fire on a Bat Mitzvah celebration. | Second Intifada | ||
| January 22 | Shooting | 5 | 20 | Kolkata, India | 2002 attack on American cultural centre in Kolkata Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on guards at the American Center, killing five people. | HuJI | ||
| January 25 | Suicide bombing | 0 (+1) | 25 | 2002 Tel Aviv outdoor mall bombing 25 people were wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a cafe on a pedestrian mall near the old central bus station.[1] | Second Intifada | |||
| January 27 | Suicide bombing | 1 (+1) | 140 | Jaffa Street bombing A female Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up, killing 2 and injuring 140. The terrorist, identified as a Fatah member, was armed with more than 10 kilos of explosives.[2] | Second Intifada | |||
| February 16 | Suicide bombing | 3 (+1) | 27 | Karnei Shomron Mall suicide bombing Two teenagers were killed and about 30 people were wounded, six seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a pizzeria in a shopping mall. A third person subsequently died of his injuries. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| March 02 | Suicide bombing | 11 (+1) | 50+ | Yeshivat Beit Yisrael massacre 11 people were killed and over 50 were injured, 4 critically, in a suicide bombing near a yeshiva where people had gathered for a bar mitzvah celebration. The terrorist detonated the bomb next to a group of women waiting with their baby carriages for their husbands to leave the nearby synagogue. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade took responsibility for the attack. | Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade | Second Intifada | ||
| March 05 | Shooting | 3 (+1) | 15 | Seafood Market attack Three people, including Druze police officer Salim Barakat was killed when a terrorist opened fire on two adjacent restaurants.[3] | Second Intifada | |||
| March 09 | Suicide bombing | 11 (+1) | 54 | Café Moment bombing 11 people were killed and 54 injured, 10 of them seriously, when a suicide bomber exploded in the crowded Moment cafe. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| March 12 | Ambush | 6 (+2) | 1 | Matzuva attack Two Islamic Jihad members opened fire on Israeli civilians traveling along a road. | Second Intifada | |||
| March 20 | Suicide bombing | 7 (+1) | 27 | Umm al-Fahm bus bombing: Four soldiers and three others were killed, and about 30 wounded, several seriously, in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| March 21 | Suicide bombing | 3 (+1) | 86 | Jerusalem, Israel | King George Street bombing Three people were killed and 86 injured, 3 of them seriously, in a suicide bombing in the center. The terrorist detonated the bomb, packed with metal spikes and nails, in the center of a crowd of shoppers. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. | Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades | Second Intifada | |
| March 27 | Suicide bombing | 30 (+1) | 140 | Passover massacre A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 30 and injures 140 during Passover festivities in a hotel. | Second Intifada | |||
| March 29 | Suicide bombing | 2 (+1) | 28 | Kiryat HaYovel supermarket bombing Two people were killed and 28 injured, two seriously, when a female suicide bomber blew herself up in a supermarket. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades took responsibility. | Second Intifada | |||
| March 30 | Shooting, suicide bombing | 11 (+2) | 20 | Jammu, India | 2002 Raghunath temple attacks Two suicide attackers open fire on the Raghunath Temple before blowing themselves up. This was the first of two attacks on this temple in 2002. | Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir | ||
| March 31 | Suicide bombing | 16 (+1) | 40+ | Matza restaurant suicide bombing A Hamas suicide bomber kills 15 and injures over 40. | Second Intifada | |||
| April 10 | Suicide bombing | 8 (+1) | 22 | Yagur Junction bombing Eight people were killed and 22 injured in a suicide bombing on an Egged bus. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| April 11 | Truck bombing | 19 (+1) | 30+ | Ghriba synagogue bombing A natural gas truck fitted with explosives is driven into a synagogue by an al-Qaeda member, killing 20 and wounding more than 30. | Insurgency in the Maghreb | |||
| April 12 | Suicide bombing | 6 (+1) | 104 | 2002 Mahane Yehuda Market bombing Six people were killed and 104 wounded when a female suicide bomber detonated at the entrance to Mahane Yehuda open-air market. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility. | Second Intifada | |||
| May 02 | Mortar bombing | 119 | 98 | Bojayá massacre FARC launches a mortar bomb against a church during combat with AUC, killing at least 117 civilians, 48 of whom were children. | Colombian conflict | |||
| May 06 | Assassination | 1 | 0 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Assassination of Pim Fortuyn Right wing politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated by far left extremist Volkert van der Graaf who said he was worried about Fortuyn getting in power and targeting immigrants and Muslims as scapegoats . | Terrorism in Netherlands | ||
| May 07 | Suicide bombing | 15 (+1) | 57 | 2002 Rishon LeZion bombing 16 people were killed and 55 wounded in a suicide bombing in a crowded game club, which caused part of the building to collapse. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| May 08 | Bombing | 13 (+1) | 40 | Karachi, Pakistan | The 2002 Karachi bus bombing kills eleven Frenchmen and two Pakistanis | Al-Qaeda (suspected) | Terrorism in Pakistan | |
| May 09 | Bombing | 44 | 133 | Kaspiysk, Russia | 2002 Kaspiysk bombing A bomb explosion in Dagestan kills at least 42 people and injures 130 or more during Victory Day festivities. | Second Chechen War | ||
| May 13 | Sabotage | 12 | 80 | Jaunpur, India | Jaunpur train crash Twelve people are killed when Islamic extremists cut rails to a train. | Terrorism in India | ||
| May 14 | Shooting | 31 | 47 | Kaluchak, India | 2002 Kaluchak massacre Three LeT militants open fire on a tourist bus filled with mainly Indian Army personnel and their families. | Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir | ||
| May 19 | Suicide bombing | 3 (+1) | 59 | Netanya Market bombing Three people were killed and 59 injured, 10 seriously, when a suicide bomber, disguised as a soldier, blew himself up in a market. Both Hamas and the PFLP took responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| May 23 | Car bombing | 0 | 0 | Pi Glilot bombing attempt Disaster was averted when sprinklers put out a fire after a diesel truck was detonated in a gas depot. The bombing could have caused a chain reaction, killing thousands of people. | Second Intifada | |||
| June 05 | Car bomb | 17 (+1) | 38 | Megiddo Junction bus bombing 17 people were killed and 38 injured when a car packed with explosives struck an Egged bus at the Megiddo Junction. The bus, which burst into flames, was completely destroyed. The terrorist was killed in the blast. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| June 11 | Suicide bombing | 1 (+1) | 15 | 2002 Herzliya shawarma restaurant bombing A 14-year-old girl was killed and 15 others were wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber set off a pipe bomb at a restaurant. | Second Intifada | |||
| June 14 | Suicide car bombing | 12 (+1) | 51 | Karachi, Pakistan | 2002 U.S. consulate attack in Karachi A car bomb at US Consulate kills 12 | Al-Qaeda (suspected) | ||
| June 18 | Suicide bombing | 19 (+1) | 74+ | Patt Junction Bus bombing A Hamas suicide bomber detonates himself on a bus. The attack kills 19 people and wounds over 74. | Second Intifada | |||
| June 19 | Suicide bombing | 7 (+1) | 50 | 2002 French Hill suicide bombing Seven people were killed and 50 injured, three critically, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the French Hill bus stop. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| June 20 | Shooting | 5 (+2) | 10 | 2002 Itamar attack Two PFLP gunmen raid an Israeli settler house and kill a mother and three of her children and wound two other children. They also kill an Israeli commando before they are killed by Israeli forces. Eight more Israelis were wounded during the attack. | PFLP | Second Intifada | ||
| July 04 | Shooting | 2 (+1) | 0 | Los Angeles, United States | 2002 LAX shooting An Egyptian gunman opens fire at an El Al ticket counter in Los Angeles International Airport, killing two Israelis before being killed himself. | Hesham Mohamed Hadayet | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | |
| July 13 | Massacre | 29 | ~30 | Jammu, India | 2002 Qasim Nagar massacre 29 Hindus are massacred by Islamic extremists in the suburb of Qasim Nagar | Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir | ||
| July 16 | Bomb, shooting | 9 | 20 | Bnei Brak–Emmanuel, Israel | 2002 Immanuel bus attack Nine people were killed and 20 injured in a terrorist attack on a bus traveling from Bnei Brak to Emmanuel. An explosive charge was detonated next to the bullet-resistant bus. The terrorists waited in ambush, reportedly wearing Israeli army uniforms, and opened fire on the bus. While four terror organizations claimed responsibility for the attack, it was apparently carried out by the same Hamas cell which carried out the attack in Emmanuel on December 12, 2001. | Second Intifada | ||
| July 17 | Suicide bombings | 5 (+2) | 40 | Neve Shaanan Street bombing Five people were killed – two Israeli and three foreign workers – and about 40 were injured, four seriously, in a double suicide bombing on Neve Shaanan Street near the old central bus station. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| July 31 | Bombing | 9 (+1) | 100+ | Hebrew University bombing Nine people were killed and 85 wounded, 14 of them seriously, when a bomb exploded in the Frank Sinatra student center cafeteria on the Hebrew University's Mt. Scopus campus. The explosive device was planted inside the cafeteria, which was gutted by the explosion. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| August 04 | Suicide bombing | 9 (+1) | 50 | Meron Junction Bus 361 attack Nine people were killed and some 50 wounded in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus at the Meron junction in the Galilee. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| August 19 | Shootdown | 127 | 20 | Khankala, Russia | 2002 Khankala Mi-26 crash A group of Chechen rebels shoot down a Russian helicopter carrying over 140 soldiers over a minefield. This event is the deadliest incident in helicopter aviation history, | Second Chechen War | ||
| September 05 | Suicide car bombing | 30 | 167 | 2002 Kabul bombing A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb. | ||||
| September 10 | Train derailment | 130+ | 150+ | Rafiganj, India | A train derailment kills 130 people in the Rafiganj rail disaster. Naxalite terrorism is suspected. | Naxalites (suspected) | ||
| September 19 | Bombing | 6 (+1) | 70 | Allenby Street bus bombing Six people were killed and about 70 wounded when a terrorist detonated a bomb in a bus opposite the Great Synagogue. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| September 25 | Raid | 30 (+2) | 80 | Ahmedabad, India | Akshardham Temple attack Two terrorists belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed group raid the Akshardham temple complex, killing 30 people and injuring many more. | Jaish-e-Mohammed | ||
| October 02-21 | Bombings | 11 | 180 | The Zamboanga bombings kills 11 and wounds about 180. | Abu Sayyaf (suspected) | Moro conflict | ||
| October 02-24 | Shootings | 10 | 3 | Beltway, United States | Beltway sniper attacks John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo conduct a series of sniper attacks in several locations throughout the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area from October 2 until they were arrested on October 24. The attacks killed 10 and wounded 3 others. They were later found to have killed seven other people and wounded seven more across the nation over the past several months. | |||
| October 06 | Bombing | 1 | 12 | Limburg tanker bombing One crew member was killed and 12 other crew members were injured in a bombing of a ship carrying 397,000 barrels of crude oil. | Al-Qaeda | |||
| October 08 | Shooting | 1 (+2) | 1 | Faylaka Island attack Two Kuwaitis opened fire on U.S. Marines conducting a training exercise. The two attackers and one marine were killed. | ||||
| October 11 | Bombing | 6 (+1) | 166 | Vantaa, Finland | Myyrmanni bombing A bomb kills 7 people including the perpetrator and wounds 166 people at a shopping mall. | Petri Gerdt | ||
| October 12 | Bombings | 202 (+2) | 209 | The 2002 Bali bombings kill 202 people, mostly western tourists and local hospitality staff. | Jemaah Islamiyah | |||
| October 21 | Car bomb | 14 (+2) | 50 | Karkur junction suicide bombing 14 people were killed and some 50 wounded when a car bomb containing about 100 kilograms of explosives was detonated next to an intercity bus. The bus had pulled over at a stop when the suicide bomber, driving a jeep, approached from behind and exploded. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. | Second Intifada | |||
| October 23-26 | Hostage crisis | 133 (+40) | 700+ | Moscow, Russia | The Moscow theater hostage crisis kills 133 hostages and some 40 terrorists upon rescue. | Second Chechen War | ||
| October 30 | Bombings | 1 | 3 | 2002 Soweto bombings Eight bombings target a mosque, the Nan Hua Temple as well as railways and petrol stations across the city. One woman is killed and her husband and two other people were injured. A group calling itself "Warriors of the Boer Nation" claimed responsibility. | Warriors of the Boer Nation | |||
| November 21 | Suicide bombing | 11 (+1) | 50+ | Hamas orchestrates the Jerusalem bus 20 massacre. 11 people were killed and over 50 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated on a crowded bus. | Second Intifada | |||
| November 24 | Shooting, suicide bombing | 14 (+2) | 45 | Jammu, India | 2002 Raghunath temple attacks Two suicide attackers open fire on the Raghunath Temple before blowing themselves up. This was the second of two attacks on this temple in 2002. | Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir | ||
| November 27 | Shooting | 6 (+2) | 34 | 2002 Beit She'an attack Two Palestinians opened fire on a Likud polling station. | Second Intifada | |||
| November 27 | Suicide car bombing | 0 (+1) | 0 | Gaza, Israel | A suicide bomber from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine rammed a car bomb into an empty building near Gaza's main Erez crossing terminal to Israel killing only himself. | PFLP | Second Intifada | |
| November 28 | Bombing, attempted shootdown | 13 (+3) | 80 | Mombasa, Kenya | 2002 Mombasa attacks An Israeli hotel is bombed, killing 13 people (10 Kenyans and 3 Israeli tourists). At nearly the same time, two missiles were fired at an Israeli plane taking off nearby but missed. | Al-Qaeda (suspected) | ||
| December 02 | Bombing | 2 | 50 | Mumbai, India | 2002 Mumbai bus bombing A bomb placed under a seat of a B.E.S.T. bus explodes and kills two people. | Lashkar-e-Taiba (suspected) | ||
| December 21 | Train derailing | 20 | 80 | Kurnool, India | Kurnool train crash Islamic extremists derail a train and kill 20 people. | Lashkar-e-Taiba | ||
| December 27 | Car bombings | 83 (+3) | 210 | Grozny, Russia | 2002 Grozny truck bombing The truck bombing of the Chechen parliament kills 83 people. | Second Chechen War |