This is a timeline of incidents in 1985 that have been labeled as "terrorism" and are not believed to have been carried out by a government or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism).
| Date | Type | data-sort-type="number" | Dead | data-sort-type="number" | Injured | Location | Details | Perpetrator | Part of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 January | Bombing | 32 | 0 | Sri Lanka | 22 soldiers and 10 civilians are killed in a train explosion set off by the LTTE.[1] | LTTE | Sri Lankan Civil War | ||
| 21 January | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Magelang, Indonesia | Bombing of the Borobudur Buddhist temple in Central Java. Believed to have been carried out by Islamists in retaliation for the Tanjung Priok massacre | Islamists | |||
| 23 February | Bombing | 1 | 18 | Paris, France | A Marks & Spencer shop is bombed, killing one and wounding 18, attributed to pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah.[2] | Hezbollah | |||
| February 7 | Mortar | 9 | 37 | Newry, Northern Ireland | The Provisional IRA launches homemade mortar shells at an RUC base, killing nine police officers and wounding thirty-seven. | PIRA | The Troubles | ||
| 8 March | Car bombing | 80 | 175 | Beirut, Lebanon | Car bomb explodes, killing 80, injuring 175; allegedly planned and executed by "rogue elements" of the Central Intelligence Agency.[3] | CIA (alleged) | Lebanese Civil War | ||
| 8 March | Bombing | 0 | 18 | Paris, France | The Cinema Rivoli is bombed while hosting a Jewish film festival, injuring 18[4] | Hezbollah | |||
| 12 March | Shooting, bombing, hostage-taking | 1 | 0 | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Three Armenian Revolutionary Army militants storm the Turkish embassy, killing a security guard, blasting open the gate in front of the building with a bomb, and taking 12 people hostage before surrendering. | Armenian Revolutionary Army | |||
| 9 April | Suicide bombing | 2 (+1 attacker) | 0 | Jezzine, Lebanon | A suicide car bomber drove an explosive-laden vehicle into an Israeli army patrol, killing 2 soldiers. This was the world's first female suicide bomber, at just 17 years old.[5] [6] | Syrian Social Nationalist Party | South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) | ||
| 12 April | Bombing | 18 | 82 | Madrid, Spain | Bombing of the El Descanso restaurant. American servicemen frequented the restaurant and were believed to have been the target. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. | Islamic Jihad | Lebanese Civil War | ||
| 14 May | Massacre | 146 | 85 | Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka | LTTE gunmen shoot dead 146 Sinhalese civilians and injure 85 others as they were praying at Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred Buddhist shrine.[7] | LTTE | Sri Lankan Civil War | ||
| 14 June | Hijacking | 1 | 0 | Athens, Greece | TWA Flight 847 hijacking, Hezbollah, see FBI Most Wanted Terrorists. Terrorists take passengers of an Athens-Rome flight hostage, murdering US Navy Seaman Robert Stethem.[8] | Hezbollah | Lebanese Civil War | ||
| 19 June | Shooting | 12 | 0 | San Salvador, El Salvador | Left-wing guerrillas opened fire on the Zona Rosa nightclub, killing 12 people including six Americans. | Central American Revolutionary Workers' Party | Salvadoran civil war | ||
| 19 June | Bombing | 3 | 74 | Frankfurt am Main, West Germany | 3 killed and 74 wounded at Frankfurt Airport by bomb. Police defuse second bomb.[9] | Abu Nidal Organization | |||
| 20 June | Bombings | 8 | Several | Across Nepal | Bombs explode in several cities, including the capitol Kathmandu, as well as in Jhapa, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Birgunj, Mahendranagar, Nepalganj and at Bhairahawa Airport. Nepal Janabadi Morcha claimed responsibility. | Nepal Janabadi Morcha | |||
| 23 June | Bombing | 2 | 4 | Narita, Japan | A bomb intended for Air India Flight 301 explodes before being loaded on the plane. The bombing was committed by the same people who bombed Air India Flight 182 the same day. | Babbar Khalsa | Punjab insurgency | ||
| 23 June | Bombing | 329 | 0 | Atlantic Ocean, Ireland | Air India Flight 182 is destroyed by a bomb en route from Montreal to Delhi. Canadian investigation determined the bomb had been planted by Sikh militants from the Babbar Khalsa and was in retaliation for Operation Blue Star | Babbar Khalsa | Punjab insurgency | ||
| 28 June | Attack | 15 | Unknown | Quindío Department, Colombia | The M-19 attacks the town of Genoa and kills 8 policemen, 2 soldiers and 5 civilians.[10] | M-19 | Colombian conflict | ||
| 1 July | Bombing, shooting | 1 | 29 | Madrid, Spain | Bombing at Trans World Airlines and British Airways offices, killing one woman and injuring 27. A follow-up submachine gun shooting and attempted grenade attacks on the Alia Royal Jordanian Airline office injured two.[11] Linked to the Abu Nidal Organization.[12] | Abu Nidal Organization | |||
| 22 July | Bombings | 1 | 32 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Two near-simultaneous bombs at the Jewish synagogue and at the offices of Northwest Orient, explode, killing one and injuring 32. The bombers are interrupted while placing a third, more powerful, bomb, which they later dispose of in the harbor. The bombs are later linked to Islamic Jihad.[13] | Hezbollah | |||
| 1 August | Kidnapping | 0 | 0 | Mediterranean and Libya | A Belgian–French family is kidnapped from their yacht Silco in the Mediterranean and held in Libya for several years. | Abu Nidal Organization | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 23-24 September | Robberies, shootings | 21 (+5 attackers) | 11 (+2 attackers) | Lahad Datu, Malaysia | A group of Moro pirates raid the town and commit robberies and shootings. | Moro pirates | Moro attacks on Sabah | ||
| 25 September | Shooting | 4 | 1 | Bayonne, France | 4 members of the Spanish government backed death squad Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación kill 4 ETA members and injured a civilian in an attack on a hotel bar. | GAL | Basque conflict | ||
| 5 October | Mass shooting | 8 | 4 | Ras Burqa, Egypt | Egyptian soldier Suleiman Khater kills 7 Israeli tourists, including four children, and another Egyptian soldier in the beach resort town | Suleiman Khater | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 7 October - 10 October | Hijacking | 1 | 0 | Mediterranean | Achille Lauro hijacking cruise ship hijacking by Palestinian Liberation Front, during which passenger Leon Klinghoffer, a 69-year-old wheelchair-using Jewish American citizen, is shot dead and thrown overboard.[14] | PLF | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 20 October | Shooting | 3 | 0 | Armenia, Colombia | M-19 guerrillas attack the facilities of the Cisneros Battalion. Three soldiers die.[15] | M-19 | Colombian conflict | ||
| 31 October | Bombing | 0 | 28 | Athens, Greece | An young Iraqi was carrying a bomb inside a bus, which exploded by accident and 28 students in the bus were injured. | Unknown | Unknown | ||
| November | Massacre | 164+ | Unknown | Toribío, Cauca, Colombia | The Tacueyó massacre occurred between November 1985 and January 1986 in the township of Tacueyó, where the guerrilla "Comando Ricardo Franco Frente-Sur" was attacked. The massacre was discovered on December 13, 1985, and was carried out by guerrillas Hernando Pizarro Leongómez and Jose Fedor Rey (alias Javier Delgado) alleging that the 164 guerrillas killed in their own group were, according to them, infiltrators or informers of the National Army of Colombia or the CIA.[16] | Comando Ricardo Franco Frente-Sur | Colombian conflict | ||
| 6 November | Siege, shootout | 98 | Several | Bogotá, Colombia | Members of the 19th of April Movement take over the Palace of Justice, the home of the Supreme Court of Colombia, in hopes of forcing a trial of President Belisario Betancur. 98 people were killed, including 35 militants, 48 soldiers and 11 of the 25 Supreme Court Justices. | M-19 | Colombian conflict | ||
| 23 November | Hijacking | 58 (+2 attackers) | Several | Luqa, Malta | EgyptAir Flight 648 is hijacked en route from Athens to Cairo by three members of the Abu Nidal Organization. The flight is diverted to Luqa Airport where the militants engage in a standoff with the Egyptian military. The Egyptian military stages a raid in which 60 people, including 2 of the attackers, are killed. | Abu Nidal Organization | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 7 December | Bombings | 0 | 43 | Paris, France | Two bombs explode at the Galeries Lafayette and the Galerie Printemps, wounding 43 people. The attacks are claimed by the Hezbollah-affiliated Committee for Solidarity With Arab and Middle Eastern Political Prisoners (CSPPA).[17] | CSPPA, Hezbollah | 1985–86 Paris attacks | ||
| 27 December | Shootings, grenade | 19 (+4 attackers) | 138 (+1 attacker) | Rome, Italy Vienna, Austria | Four gunmen from the Abu Nidal Organization open fire on the El Al ticket counter at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, killing 16 and wounding 99. Nearly simultaneously, three more gunmen attack Vienna International Airport, targeting passengers boarding a flight for Tel Aviv. Three people are killed and 39 injured. Four of the seven terrorists are also killed in the attacks. | Abu Nidal Organization | Israeli–Palestinian conflict |