International Terrorism Since 1945 Season 1, Episode 23: The Tamil Tigers

Early Israeli Terrorism

On 22 July 1946, a Zionist group Irgun, bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, killing 91 people.

The Al-Qaeda Menace

On 11 September 2001, international Islamist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger planes, and deliberately flew two of them into the World Trade Center, one into The Pentagon, and crashed the other in a field in Pennsylvania, killing 2,998 people.

The IRA

A brief history of Irish Republican terrorism.

Fatah/Hamas

Palestinian terrorism, including events in Munich, in September 1972, when militant group Black September kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli sportspeople.

PLO

The hijacking of three passenger planes, in September 1970, by the PLO, accompanied by demands for the release of imprisoned Palestinians.

ETA, Spain

The murder of Luis Carrero Blanco. On 20 December 1973, the Prime Minister of Spain was assassinated with a car bomb, by communist group ETA.

30 min

The Red Brigades

Formed in 1970, the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades) sought to create a revolutionary state through armed struggle and to separate Italy from the Western Alliance (NATO). The Red Brigades’ main aim was the overthrow of the Italian government, the weakening of NATO and the creation of a Marxist state.

The Baader-Meinhof Gang

Terrorist acts committed by far-left group Baader Meinhof Gang / Red Army Faction in Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.

EOKA

EOKA's attacks on police stations, government offices and military installations on Cyprus in the 1950s.

Nasser and Egyptian Terrorism

The history of Egyptian terrorism, including the 17 November 1997, murder of 59 foreign tourists, three police officers and a tour guide by Egyptian group al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya.

Colonel Gaddafi and Libya

On 21 December 1988, Libya bombed transatlantic Pan Am flight 103 over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie.

Algeria and the OAS

The group OAS committed a series of attacks, killing hundreds, in an attempt to keep Algeria governed by France.

The SLA and Patty Hearst

In 1974, left-wing group the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, exerting pressure on her to make them join in their violent activities.

The Weathermen

Communist group The Weathermen carried out a series of bombings in the United States from 1969 - 1977.

The Oklahoma Bomber

On 19 April 1995, Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.

The Ku Klux Klan

A history of attacks carried out by white, right-wing Christian group KKK.

Japanese Sarin Cult

The motives behind the March 15, 2005 gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system, committed by the new religious group Aum Shinrikyo - who aimed to destabilise the Japanese government.

The Mahdi Army

The motives behind actions taken by the Mahdi Army, who rose to arms in Iraq after the deposition of Saddam Hussein, in reaction to the US Military banning a Shia newspaper

Che Guevara

The motives, morals and methods of Che Guevara who in his relatively short life managed to inspire a generation of Cuban youths into rebellion against authority.

Fidel Castro

The story behind the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which saw Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev bring the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Somali Warlords

America's disastrous attempt to capture two notorious Somali terrorists in 1993. Last in the series.

The Taliban

The global war against the Taliban, who instigated a brutal authoritarian regime in Afghanistan.

Chechen Extremism

The Chechen rebel's who seized a theatre in Moscow and took 800 people hostage in 2002.

The Moluccan Separatists

The hijacking of a Dutch train by South Moluccan Separatists in 1977, who demanded independence for their homeland.

The Mau Mau

The Mau Mau's fight for Kenya's independence from Britain, who are a violent terrorist group founded in the 1950s.