Westgate mall to Moscow theater: Tally of recent hostage dramas with Islamist links
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Version 0 of 1. As the Sydney hostage drama plays out, authorities are likely to review the tactics and outcomes from past showdowns with Islamist-linked militants holding captives. While Islamist factions have taken hostages in various places – from the Philippines to Syria – many captives are held in secret locations. In some cases, however, the siege is on public display. Among some of the biggest in recent years: Sept. 21, 2013: Gunmen stormed the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, to begin a nearly three-day standoff. The Somali-based Islamist faction al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack in retaliation for Kenyan military deployments in Somalia. Kenyan forces staged an assault on the mall. The final toll included least 67 people killed, including four of the attackers, and more than 175 injured. Oct. 10, 2009: Suspected Islamist militants, wearing military uniforms, opened fire in the general headquarters of Pakistan’s army, killing soldiers and taking more than 20 civilians and military officials hostage. Pakistani forces launched a counterattack later the same day. The overall death toll included nine soldiers, nine attackers and two civilians. Nov. 26, 2008: A series of coordinated attacks across Mumbai culminated with gunman taking control of the Taj Mahal hotel. The gunman – apparently well trained – were linked to Islamist groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani-based faction that had carried out previous attacks in India such as a deadly assault on the Indian parliament in 2001. On Nov. 29, 2008, Indian forces launched a massive raid to regain control of the hotel, killing many of the suspected attackers. A total of at least 164 people were killed and more than 300 injured over the more than three days of chaos. Sept. 1, 2004: More than 1,100 people – about two thirds of them children -- were taken captive when Islamist rebels seized control of a school in Beslan in North Ossetia in Russia’s North Caucasus region. For three days, commandos faced off against the hostage-takers, believed linked to separatists demanding independence for Chechnya. A major attack on the site was launched by Russian forces. More than 330 people were killed, nearly half children. Oct. 23 2002: Dozens of armed Islamist rebels seized control of a Moscow theater, demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. About 800 hostages were taken and two were killed during the nearly three-day standoff. Russian authorities pumped an undisclosed type of gas into the theater’s ventilation system before opened an attack, which authorities said killed all the attackers. But about 130 hostages died after reactions to the toxic gas. |