This is a list of terrorist incidents which took place in 2018, including attacks by violent non-state actors for political motives. Note that terrorism related to drug wars and cartel violence is not included in these lists. Ongoing military conflicts are listed separately.
Total incidents:
| Date | Type | data-sort-type="number" | Dead | data-sort-type="number" | Injured | Location | Article | Details | Perpetrator | Part of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 January | Stabbing | 1 | 0 | Orange County, United States | Murder of Blaze Bernstein | The man accused of killing a gay and Jewish University of Pennsylvania student was an avowed neo-Nazi and a member of Atomwaffen Division, one of the country's most notorious extremist groups.[1] | Atomwaffen Division | Terrorism in the United States | ||
| 15 January | Suicide bombings | 38 (+2) | 105 | Baghdad, Iraq | 2018 Baghdad bombings | Two suicide bombings at al-Tayaran Square.[2] | Iraqi insurgency | |||
| 20-21 January | Shooting, arson, hostage taking | 40 (+6) | 22 | Kabul, Afghanistan | 2018 Inter-Continental Hotel Kabul attack | Gunmen launched an attack on the Inter-Continental Hotel. More than 100 people were freed from the hotel and six gunmen were killed.[3] [4] | Taliban and Haqqani Network | War in Afghanistan | ||
| 23 January | Car bombing | 41 | 80 | Benghazi, Libya | January 2018 Benghazi bombing | Twin car bomb attack outside a mosque.[5] [6] [7] | Unknown | Libyan Civil War (2014–present) | ||
| 24 January | Shooting, suicide car bombing | 6 | 27 | Jalalabad, Afghanistan | 2018 Save The Children Jalalabad attack | A complex attack began with a suicide car bomb outside the Save The Children offices, followed by gunmen entering the compound and fighting Afghan special forces.[8] [9] | War in Afghanistan | |||
| 27 January | Suicide car bombing | 103 | 235 | Kabul, Afghanistan | 2018 Kabul ambulance bombing | A suicide bomber exploded an ambulance laden with explosives near Sidarat Square where several government offices are located.[10] [11] | War in Afghanistan | |||
| 3 February | Shooting | 0 | 6 | Macerata, Italy | Macerata shooting | An gunman with extreme right-wing sympathies shot and injured six African asylum seekers.[12] | Luca Traini (Right wing extremist) | Terrorism in Italy | ||
| 5 February | Stabbing | 1 | 0 | Ariel, West Bank | 2018 Ariel stabbing | An Israeli man was stabbed to death at a bus station.[13] | Palestinian nationalist | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 9 February | Bombing | 2 | 143 | Benghazi, Libya | February 2018 Benghazi bombing | A bomb exploded in a mosque.[14] | Unknown | Libyan Civil War (2014–present) | ||
| 10–11 February | Shooting, grenade attack | 7 (+3) | 11 | Jammu, India | 2018 Sunjuwan attack | Gunmen attacked an Army camp. Three of them were shot dead by the Army.[15] [16] [17] | Jaish-e-Mohammed | Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir | ||
| 10–13 February | Bombings | 12 | 50 | 2018 Oruro attacks | Two bomb attacks.[18] [19] | Unknown | Terrorism in Bolivia | |||
| 18 February | Shooting | 5 (+1) | 5 | Kizlyar, Russia | Kizlyar church shooting | Shooting at a church. The attacker was shot and killed by police.[20] | Islamic State | Insurgency in the North Caucasus | ||
| 19 February | Kidnapping | 5 | 108 | Dapchi, Nigeria | Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapping | 111 students from one school and two other students from another school were abducted by Boko Haram. The insurgents later released 107 of them but one was still in custody.[21] [22] | Boko Haram | Boko Haram insurgency | ||
| 21 February | Bombing | 2 | 22 | Lashio, Myanmar | 2018 Lashio bombing | A bomb exploded at a bank.[23] [24] | Northern Alliance (suspected) | Internal conflict in Myanmar | ||
| 23 February | Suicide car bombings, shooting | 45 (+5) | 36 | Mogadishu, Somalia | February 2018 Mogadishu attack | Two car bombings and subsequent gunfire.[25] | Al-Shabaab | Somali Civil War | ||
| 24 February | Bombings | 0 | 1 | Sittwe, Myanmar | 2018 Sittwe bombings | Three bombs exploded in the capital of Rakhine State.[26] [27] [28] | Rakhine nationalists (suspected) | Northern Rakhine State clashes | ||
| 2 March | Shooting, suicide car bombing | 30 | 85 | Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | 2018 Ouagadougou attacks | Attacks on the French embassy and cultural center and the army headquarters.[29] [30] | Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb | Insurgency in the Maghreb | ||
| 11 March | Stabbing | 0 (+1) | 1 | Vienna, Austria | 2018 Vienna embassy stabbing | An Islamist stabbed and injured a guard at the residence of the Iranian ambassador. The attacker was shot and killed.[31] [32] | Islamic terrorism in Europe | |||
| 13 March | Bombing | 9 | 10 | Sukma district, India | 2018 Sukma attack | Nine paramilitary troopers of the Indian Central Reserve Police Force were killed and about ten others wounded after Naxalites targeted their vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Chhattisgarh.[33] [34] | CPI | Naxalite–Maoist insurgency | ||
| 21 March | Suicide bombing | 33 (+1) | 65 | Kabul, Afghanistan | March 2018 Kabul suicide bombing | Suicide bombing near a Shiite shrine as Afghans celebrated the Persian New Year.[35] [36] | Islamic State | War in Afghanistan | ||
| 22 March | Car bombing | 18 | 22 | Mogadishu, Somalia | March 2018 Mogadishu bombing | Car bomb explosion near a hotel.[37] [38] | Al-Shabaab | Somali Civil War | ||
| 23 March | Shootings, stabbing, hostage taking | 4 (+1) | 15 | Carcassonne and Trèbes, France | Carcassonne and Trèbes attack | A gunman affiliated with the Islamic State attacked the cities of Carcassonne and Trèbes: He attacked and stole a car, killing the passenger and wounding the driver, in Carcassonne. He arrived in Trèbes and during the process a police officer was injured when the terrorist shot him. Then, he attacked a supermarket, where two civilians were killed and several others injured. A policeman exchanged himself for a hostage, was later shot and stabbed and died of his injuries in hospital. The attacker was later killed by the police.[39] [40] | Islamic State | Islamic terrorism in Europe | ||
| 30 March | Shooting | 7 | 6 | Eruh, Turkey | Siirt raid | Six village guards were killed in an attack by PKK terrorists in Siirt Province. Three village guards and four soldiers were wounded. One soldier died from his injury days later.[41] | PKK | Kurdish–Turkish conflict | ||
| 1 April | Suicide car bombings, mortar attack, shooting, arson | 59 (+14) | Unknown | Bulo Marer, Somalia | 2018 African Union base attack in Bulo Marer | Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked an African Union military camp in the Bulo Marer area of Lower Shebelle, where Ugandan peacekeepers are stationed.[42] [43] [44] | Al-Shabaab | Somali Civil War | ||
| 12 April | Bombings | 25 | 18 | Al-Shirqat District, Iraq | 2018 Asdira funeral bombing | Bombing at a funeral for Sunni Muslim tribal fighters in the village of Asdira.[45] [46] [47] | Islamic State | Iraqi insurgency | ||
| 14 April | Rocket attack, suicide car bombings, shooting | 1 (+15) | 16 | Timbuktu, Mali | MINUSMA super camp attack | The attackers first fired rockets at a camp of MINUSMA and Barkhane. Then two suicide car bombers detonated at various locations in the camp. One peacekeeper was killed, 15 terrorists were killed, seven French soldiers, seven MINUSMA peacekeepers and two civilians were injured.[48] [49] | Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb | Northern Mali conflict | ||
| 22 April | Suicide bombing | 69 (+1) | 120 | Kabul, Afghanistan | 22 April 2018 Kabul suicide bombing | Suicide bomb attack at a voter registration centre. The casualties were all civilians, most of whom had been waiting outside the office to apply for their IDs in order to register to vote in the upcoming elections.[50] [51] [52] | Islamic State | War in Afghanistan | ||
| 30 April | Suicide bombings | 29 (+2) | 50 | Kabul, Afghanistan | 30 April 2018 Kabul suicide bombings | Two suicide bombings.[53] [54] | Islamic State | War in Afghanistan | ||
| 1 May | Suicide bombings | 86 (+2) | 58 | Mubi, Nigeria | 2018 Mubi suicide bombings | Two suicide attacks at a mosque and a market in Adamawa State.[55] [56] | Boko Haram | Boko Haram insurgency | ||
| 2 May | Shooting, arson, suicide bombings | 16 (+2) | 20 | Tripoli, Libya | 2018 attack on the High National Elections Commission in Tripoli, Libya | Suicide bombers attacked the head offices of Libya's electoral commission, setting fire to the building.[57] [58] | Islamic State | Libyan Civil War | ||
| 8–10 May | Shooting, stabbings, hostage taking | 6 (+2) | 4 | Depok, Indonesia | 2018 Mako Brimob standoff | Five police officers and one militant were killed and four others injured in a standoff between security forces and terrorists in a detention center. Hours after the end of the siege, an Islamic militant fatally stabbed a policeman at the police detention center before he was shot by another policeman.[59] [60] [61] [62] | Islamic State | Terrorism in Indonesia | ||
| 12 May | Stabbing | 1 (+1) | 4 | Paris, France | 2018 Paris knife attack | A man stabbed a pedestrian to death and injured four other before being killed by police.[63] | Islamic State | Islamic terrorism in Europe | ||
| 13–14 May | Suicide bombings, suicide car bombing, bombing | 15 (+13) | 57 | Surabaya and Sidoarjo, Indonesia | Surabaya bombings | A series of terrorist attacks. The attacks killed 15 civilians, mostly churchgoers, and injured 57 others. 13 perpetrators also died as a result of the bombings.[64] [65] [66] [67] | Islamic State | Terrorism in Indonesia | ||
| 16 May | Vehicular attack, stabbing | 1 (+4) | 4 | Pekanbaru, Indonesia | Pekanbaru sword attack | Terrorists drove a vehicle into the entrance of the Riau provincial police headquarters, and began attacking officers with samurai swords, killing an officer and injuring two other policemen and two journalists. The police then shot and killed four attackers.[68] [69] | Islamic State | Terrorism in Indonesia | ||
| 28–29 May | Melee attack, stabbing, shooting, hostage taking | 4 (+1) | 4 | Marche-en-Famenne and Liège, Belgium | 2018 Liège attack | A man who shouted "Allahu Akbar" stabbed two female police officers, then took their guns and used them to shoot and kill the two officers and a pedestrian in Liège. The gunman took a woman hostage before he was killed by police. Four other police officers were wounded, one of whom was seriously injured. Before the attack, the attacker also killed a man in Marche-en-Famenne, repeatedly hitting him with a hammer.[70] [71] [72] [73] | Islamic State | Islamic terrorism in Europe | ||
| 23 June | Grenade attack | 2 | 47 | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe | 2018 Bulawayo bombing | Two people were killed and at least 47 others, including Vice-president Kembo Mohadi, injured in a grenade attack on President Emmerson Mnangagwa.[74] [75] [76] [77] | Unknown | Zimbabwe protests | ||
| 1 July | Suicide bombing | 20 (+1) | 20 | Jalalabad, Afghanistan | July 2018 Jalalabad suicide bombing | A suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the center of Jalalabad.[78] [79] | Islamic State | War in Afghanistan | ||
| 7 July | Car bombings, shooting | 20 (+3) | 24 | Mogadishu, Somalia | July 2018 Mogadishu bombings | Fighters of the Somali group Al-Shabaab attacked the compound of the interior and security ministries, detonating two car bombs outside the main gate of the interior ministry before three militants stormed it. All three gunmen were killed by the security forces.[80] [81] [82] | Al-Shabaab | Somali Civil War | ||
| 10 July | Suicide bombing | 22 (+1) | 75 | Peshawar, Pakistan | 2018 Peshawar suicide bombing | A suicide bombing at an election rally killed at least 22 people, including prominent local politician Haroon Bilour. The attack at a campaign event organised by the Awami National Party also injured at least 75 people.[83] [84] [85] | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan | War in North-West Pakistan | ||
| 13 July | Bombing | 5 | 37 | Bannu, Pakistan | 2018 Mastung and Bannu bombings | Explosives fitted to a motorbike detonated at an election rally.[86] [87] | Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen | War in North-West Pakistan | ||
| 13 July | Suicide bombing | 149 (+1) | 186 | Mastung, Pakistan | 2018 Mastung and Bannu bombings | At least 149 people, including the Balochistan Awami Party candidate Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, were killed and 186 others injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives.[88] [89] | War in North-West Pakistan | |||
| 22 July | Suicide bombing | 3 (+1) | 3 | Kulachi, Pakistan | 2018 Kulachi suicide bombing | A suicide bombing in the Dera Ismail Khan district killed a candidate running for a seat in the provincial assembly, his driver and a guard and injured three other people.[90] [91] | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan | War in North-West Pakistan | ||
| 25 July | Suicide bombing | 31 (+1) | 40 | Quetta, Pakistan | 2018 Quetta suicide bombing | At least 31 people, including five policemen and two children, were killed and 40 others wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a polling station.[92] [93] | Islamic State | War in North-West Pakistan | ||
| 25 July | Suicide bombings, shootings, hostage taking | 255 (+63) | 180 | As-Suwayda Governorate, Syria | 2018 As-Suwayda attacks | Islamic state militants carried out suicide bombings and gun attacks in the city of As-Suwayda and a number of villages in the governorate of As-Suwayda. At least 63 terrorists were also killed, including the suicide bombers. The jihadists also seized hostages from the villages they attacked.[94] [95] [96] | Islamic State | Syrian Civil War | ||
| 28 July | Shooting | +1 (+Unknown) | +1 (+Unknown) | Ndop, Cameroon | Ndop prison break | At least 50 separatist fighters stormed the premises of the central prison and freed 163 inmates before burning down the prison and seizing weapons and ammunition before retreating.[97] | Ambazonia Defence Forces | Anglophone crisis | ||
| 29 July | Vehicular attack, stabbing, shooting | 4 (+4) | 2 | Danghara District, Tajikistan | Terrorist attack against cyclists in Tajikistan | Two Americans, a Swiss and a Dutch national were killed and two others injured in a terrorist attack in the Khatlon Region. First a car hit the cyclists and then the occupants of the vehicle got out and stabbed and shot the tourists. Members of the security forces later killed four people suspected of being involved in the attack.[98] [99] [100] | Islamic State | Terrorism in Tajikistan | ||
| 31 July | Suicide car bombing | 9 (+1) | 12 | Lamitan, Philippines | 2018 Lamitan bombing | A bomb exploded in a van and killed a suspected bomber, a soldier, four paramilitaries and four civilians, including a mother and her child, at a military checkpoint in the province of Basilan. Twelve others were wounded.[101] [102] [103] | Abu Sayyaf | Moro conflict | ||
| 28 August | Bombing | 2 | 36 | Isulan, Philippines | 2018 Isulan bombings | Explosion of a homemade bomb during a street festival in Sultan Kudarat province.[104] | Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters | Moro conflict | ||
| 31 August | Stabbing | 0 | 2 (+1) | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2018 Amsterdam stabbing attack | An Afghan teenager stabbed and injured two Americans in Amsterdam Central Station. The attacker was shot and injured.[105] [106] | Jawad S | Islamic terrorism in Europe | ||
| 2 September | Bombing | 2 | 15 | Sultan Kudarat, Philippines | 2018 Isulan bombings | Bomb blast in an internet café.[107] [108] | Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters | Moro conflict | ||
| 2 September | Suicide car bombing | 7 (+1) | 14 | Mogadishu, Somalia | 2 September 2018 Mogadishu bombing | A suicide car bombing hit a government office, causing a nearby school to collapse.[109] [110] | Al-Shabaab | Somali Civil War | ||
| 5 September | Suicide car bombing, suicide bombing | 26 (+2) | 91 | Kabul, Afghanistan | September 2018 Kabul attacks | Blast in a wrestling club followed by another attacker who detonated when emergency services arrived.[111] [112] [113] [114] | Islamic State | War in Afghanistan | ||
| 10 September | Shooting | 2 (+2) | 10 | Tripoli, Libya | 2018 National Oil Corporation attack | Masked men attacked the headquarters of the National Oil Corporation (NOC).[115] [116] | Islamic State | Libyan Civil War | ||
| 11 September | Suicide Bombing | 68 (+1) | 165 | Momand Dara District, Afghanistan | September 2018 Jalalabad suicide bombing | A suicide bomber targeted a gathering of protesters.[117] [118] [119] [120] | Islamic State (suspected) | War in Afghanistan | ||
| 12 September | Vehicular Attack | 15 | 43 | Mishui, China | 2018 Mishui vehicle attack | A man plowed into a crowded square and attacked people with a knife and spade seeking “revenge” on society. The attacker, Yang Zanyun, was sentenced to death and executed.[121] [122] [123] | Lone Wolf | Terrorism in China | ||
| 22 September | Mass shooting | 25 (+5) | 70 | Ahvaz, Iran | Ahvaz military parade attack | Gunmen opened fire during a military parade.[124] [125] [126] [127] | Islamic State (suspected) / Ahvaz National Resistance (suspected) | Terrorism in Iran | ||
| 7 October | Shooting | 2 | 1 | Barkan, West Bank | 2018 Barkan Industrial Park shooting | A Palestinian gunman opened fire with an improvised submachine gun on factory workers in the industrial zone of Barkan. The attacker fled the scene.[128] [129] | Palestinian nationalist | Israeli–Palestinian conflict | ||
| 20 October | Shooting | 9 | 0 | Sagay, Philippines | 2018 Sagay massacre | Farmers belonging to the National Federation of Sugar Workers were killed, including four women and two children, while they were eating dinner in a makeshift tent on a farm in Negros Occidental.[130] [131] | Revolutionary Proletarian Army | Communist rebellion in the Philippines | ||
| 22 October–1 November | Attempted bombings | 0 | 0 | Various cities across the United States | October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts | A registered Republican Party member from Aventura, Florida, sent mail bombs to various Democratic Party politicians and liberal media personalities and individuals across the United States including CNN Headquarters. The perpetrator was arrested on October 26, and in 2019 pled guilty to 65 felony counts such as using weapons of mass destruction in a terrorist attack.[132] [133] [134] [135] | Cesar Alteri Sayoc Jr. | Terrorism in the United States Far-right terrorism Radical right in the United States | ||
| 24 October | Shooting | 2 | 0 | Kentucky, USA | 2018 Jeffersontown shooting | Two elderly victims, both African Americans, were killed while shopping at a Kroger store in Jeffersontown by a white gunman, who was later charged in state court with two counts of murder and ten counts of wanton endangerment, and held on $5 million bail.[136] On November 15, a federal grand jury in the Western District of Kentucky indicted the shooter on six counts: three hate crime charges and three firearms offenses.[137] | Gregory Alan Bush | Terrorism in the United States Far-right terrorism and Radical right in the United States | ||
| 27 October | Mass shooting | 11 | 6 (+1) | Pittsburgh, United States | Pittsburgh synagogue shooting | A gunman opened fire inside the Tree of Life synagogue. According to witnesses the attacker yelled "All Jews must die!" A group of police officers were also shot during the incident. He was subsequently arrested.[138] [139] [140] [141] [142] | Robert Bowers | Terrorism in the United States Far-right terrorism and Radical right in the United States | ||
| 1 November | Shooting | 5 | 2 | Sadiya, India | Tinsukia killings | Suspected militants shot dead five youths and injured at least 2 more.[143] [144] [145] | United Liberation Front of Assam (suspected) | Insurgency in Northeast India | ||
| 2 November | Mass shooting | 7 | 14 | Minya Governorate, Egypt | 2018 Minya bus attack | At least seven Christian Copts were killed and 14 injured when gunmen opened fire on them when they were travelling by bus from Sohag to St. Samuel's monastery.[146] [147] [148] | Islamic State | |||
| 4 November | Kidnapping | 0 | 80 | Nkwen, near Bamenda, Cameroon | PSS Nkwen kidnapping | At least 80 people including 79 children were kidnapped from a school by anglophone separatist militants in the restive region of Bamenda. While the kidnappers identified as "Amba Boys" and the government blamed the separatists, the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council claimed that they not only had nothing to do with the kidnappings, but had also sent its own fighters to try to locate the children.[149] | Amba Boys | Anglophone crisis | ||
| 4 November | Shooting | 3 | 10 | Amazonas, Venezuela | 2018 Amazonas ambush | 3 Venezuelan border guards were killed and 10 were wounded in a suspected ELN rebel attack.[150] [151] | ELN (suspected) | Spillover of Colombian conflict | ||
| 9 November | Stabbing, arson, attempted car bombing | 1 (+1) | 2 | Melbourne, Australia | 2018 Melbourne stabbing attack | An Italian man was stabbed to death while two others were injured after a Somali man carried out an attack, who also set his car on fire, in the attempt to blow it. The attacker was shot dead by the police.[152] [153] | Islamic State | Terrorism in Australia | ||
| 20 November | Stabbing | 0 | 2 | Brussels, Belgium | 2018 Brussels stabbing attack | A lone wolf terrorist attacked police officers outside a police station. One police officer was wounded and the attacker was shot and injured. The police suspect Islamic terrorism.[154] | Issam T | Islamic terrorism in Europe | ||
| 23 November | Shooting | 4 (+3) | 0 | Karachi, Pakistan | 2018 Karachi Chinese consulate attack | Armed assault on the Chinese consulate.[155] | Balochistan Liberation Army | Insurgency in Balochistan | ||
| 23 November | Suicide Bombing | 34 (+1) | 56 | Kalaya, Pakistan | 2018 Orakzai bombing | Suicide bombing in a market in the Shi'ite dominated region of Kalaya, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[156] [157] | Islamic State | War in North-West Pakistan | ||
| 6 December | Suicide car bombing | 2 (+1) | 48 | Chabahar, Iran | 2018 Chabahar suicide bombing | A suicide car bomb exploded near a police post, leaving two police officers dead.[158] | Ansar Al-Furqan | Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency | ||
| 11–13 December | Shooting, stabbing | 5 (+1) | 12 | Strasbourg, France | 2018 Strasbourg attack | Shooting attack near a Christmas Market. The attacker escaped in a taxi and was shot dead by police two days after.[159] [160] [161] [162] [163] | Cherif Chekatt | Islamic terrorism in Europe | ||
| 17 December | Melee attack, decapitation | 2 | 0 | Imlil, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco | Murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland | Two female Scandinavian tourists, one Norwegian and one Danish citizen, were found brutally murdered in their tent in the Atlas Mountains.[164] The police arrested 22 men in connection with the incident.[165] | Islamic State (suspected) | Insurgency in the Maghreb | ||
| 31 December | Stabbing | 0 | 3 | Manchester, United Kingdom | Manchester Victoria stabbing attack | Three people including one police officer were stabbed in an attack at Victoria Station on New Year's Eve. A mentally disturbed man was sentenced to life imprisonment for three attempted murders that were considered to have a terrorist connection.[166] | Mahdi Mohamud |