Footprints of a murderous rampage

One of the most telling statements of 2016 was made by outgoing UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, who termed the situation at Aleppo in Syria, where the rebel forces were clashing with the government, as “a synonym for hell”. Political and communal instability in West Asia had resulted in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria(IS) clambering out of the swamp. With their stated motive to set up an Islamic Caliphate, their strength had increased exponentially over the years. In time, so did their bloodlust. They targeted minority Shias (Kabul blasts), Hindu priests (Jogeshwar Roy), Christians and Kurds in Iraq and Turkey. They carried out countless terror attacks across the world, including Europe and the US. However, by November, the Iraqi government had announced that it was about to storm Mosul, the final stronghold of the IS fighters. The US government had set a $25 million bounty on IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A list of the major terror attacks that IS claims to have carried out:


January 8, 2016 – A suicide bomb attack by IS Libyan affiliates on a military training centre at Zliten, southeast of Tripoli, results in 50 casualties. A truck laden with explosives was detonated at the centre.

March 7, 2016 – IS fighters target the military barracks and police stations at the city of Ben Guardane, bordering Tunisia and Libya. More than 50 people died in the ensuing gunbattle.

March 22, 2016 - Multiple explosions at Brussels airport and the city's subway station leave 32 dead and scores injured. Two explosions had struck the Zaventem international airport, another hit the Maelbeek metro station. Khalid el-Bakraoui, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Najim Laachraoui, all three deceased, Osama K and Mohamed Abrini were named as accused in the case.

June 12, 2016 – Swearing allegiance to the Islamic State, a shooter went on a rampage at the gay nightclub of Orlando in the United States, killing 49 people. The attacker, Omar Mateen, was shot dead by the Orlando police after a nearly three-hour standoff.

June 28, 2016 – Two gunmen with automatic weapons and explosive belts staged attacks on Ataturk international airport of Turkey. Around 50 casualties were reported. The gunmen approached the x-ray scanner at a checkpoint and opened fire. In the return fire, the assailants detonated bombs on their persons.

July 1 2016 - Five armed militants stormed the Holey Artisan bakery in Bangladesh, a popular hangout for foreigners in Dhaka, taking more than 20 patrons hostage. Around 20 casualties were reported (foreigners, locals, police officers, gunmen and bakery staff included). Tarishi Jain, an Indian teenager, was among those who were killed. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

July 13, 2016 - About 80 people were killed when two suicide bombers struck at a peaceful protest staged in Kabul by the Hazara minority of the Shia sect. The suicide bombers detonated their vests in the midst of the gathering.

July 14, 2016 - An attacker killed 80 people and injured scores by driving a heavy truck at high speed into a crowd watching Bastille Day fireworks in the French Riviera city of Nice. Guns and grenades were found inside the 25-tonne, unmarked truck. The truck careered for hundreds of meters along the famed Promenade des Anglais seafront, slamming into spectators watching the fireworks, listening to an orchestra or strolling above the beach towards the grand, century-old Hotel Negresco, Reuters reported. The driver was identified as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a Tunisian resident of France. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 21, 2016 - Islamic state claims responsibility for a suicide attack in a minority Shia mosque at Kabul, killing over 30 people and injuring dozens.