Timeline: Attacks linked to al-Qaeda

July 21 2005 ‘Would-be’ suicide bombers fail to detonate four separate devices in central London.

July 7 2005 Four explosions in central London kill 56 people, including the bombers.

March 11 2004 Four explosions blow up commuter trains in Madrid, killing 190 people. The Spanish government initially blames the Basque separatist group Eta, but subsequent evidence points to an attack by Islamist terrorists. The Abu Hafz al-Masri Brigades, said to be a division of al-Qaeda, claims responsibility in retaliation for Spain’s involvement in the US-led war in Iraq.

20 November 2003 Two suicide car bombings against Turkish headquarters of HSBC bank and the British Consulate in Istanbul result in the deaths of 27 people, including the British Consul and his personal assistant. Al-Qaeda and a local Islamist group claim responsibility.

15 November 2003 Turkish Islamists kill 24 people in truck bombings at two synagogues in Istanbul. Although the attacks target the Beir Israel and Neve Shalom temples, most of the victims are Muslim passers-by. The bombings are claimed by al-Qaeda and a local Islamist group.

9 November 2003 Suicide car bomb attack on a residential compound in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, kills 17 people, mostly Arab expatriates.

30 September 2003 A Belgian court sentences 18 Islamic militants, ending a four-month trial that highlighted the depth and diversity of al-Qaeda’s terrorist network at the heart of Europe. Nizar Trabelsi, a former professional soccer player, receives the maximum sentence for his crimes under Belgian law of 10 years in prison after he admitting to preparing a suicide attack on a US air base at Kleine Brogel, near the Dutch border.

19 August 2003. The Brigades of the Martyr Abu Hafz al-Masri, said to be a division of al-Qaeda, claims responsibility for a massive truck bomb which devastates the Baghdad headquarters of the UN, killing Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top UN envoy to Iraq, and 21 others.

5 August 2003. A huge bomb kills 10 people and wounds 150 at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta. Matori Abdul Djalil, Indonesian defence minister blames the militant group Jema’ah Islamiyah.

7 June 2003. A suicide car bomber blows up a bus full of German peacekeepers east of the Afghan capital Kabul, killing four and wounding 31. Peter Struck, German defence minister, blames al -Qaeda.

16 May 2003. Suicide bombers attack a Spanish restaurant, a five-star hotel and a Jewish community centre in Casablanca, killing 45 people, including 12 bombers. Members of a Morrocan organisation known as the Salafist Jihad, which has indirect links to al-Qaeda, are later found guilty of co-ordinating the attacks.

12 May 2003. Suicide bombers in vehicles shoot their way into housing compounds for expatriates in Saudi capital, Riyadh, killing 35, including nine Americans. Colin Powell, US secretary of state, blames al-Qaeda.

30 April 2003. Six men suspected of links with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network are seized in a raid in the Pakistani city of Karachi. The Pakistani interior ministry said they had been planning major acts of terrorism in the country.

28 November 2002. Two attacks are launched against Israeli targets in Mombasa, Kenya. A hotel blast kills 16 - including the three suicide car bombers - and a missile is fired but misses an Israeli plane. Al-Qaeda is believed responsible.

12 October 2002. Three bombs explode on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, killing nearly 200 people, mostly foreign tourists. Investigators blame the Jemaah Islamiyah, a southeast Asian terrorist group with ties to al-Qaeda.

6 October 2002. A French-registered oil tanker, Limburg, is damaged by explosives while sailing off the coast of Yemen. Al-Qaeda is suspected.

11 June 2002. US authorities say they thwarted a plot by al-Qaeda to attack the country by detonating a radioactive ‘dirty bomb’. The alleged bomber Abdullah al-Muhajir, also known as Jose Padilla, was arrested on 8 May at Chicago airport after arriving from Pakistan.

11 April 2002. A lorry laden with dynamite and gas cylinders explodes at a synagogue on the Tunisian Island of Djerba, killing 17 people - 11 German tourists, five Tunisians and a Frenchman. German officials blame al-Qaeda and trace planning of the attack to Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, a senior al-Qaeda planner.

23 December 2001. Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber, is arrested on a flight from Paris to Miami. He allegedly had explosives hidden in his shoes.

11 September 2001. Two hijacked airliners crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. Soon after, the Pentagon is struck by a third hijacked plane. A fourth hijacked plane, suspected to be bound for a high-profile target in Washington, crashes into a field in southern Pennsylvania. More than 5,000 US citizens and other nationals are killed as a result of these acts.

30 December 2000. A bomb explodes in a plaza across the street from the US embassy in Manila, injuring nine people. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is thought to be responsible.

12 October 2000. In Aden, Yemen, a small dingy carrying explosives rams the destroyer USS Cole, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 others. Supporters of al-Qaeda are suspected.

14 December 1999. Ahmed Rezzam, an al-Qaeda operative based in Canada, is arrested as he crosses into the US near Seattle, when a bomb is found in his car. He admits he planned to detonate the bomb at Los Angeles airport on the millenium.

7 August 1998. A bomb explodes at the rear entrance of the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 247 Kenyans, 12 US citizens, and 32 Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs). About 5,000 Kenyans, six US citizens, and 13 FSNs are injured. Almost simultaneously, a bomb is detonated outside the US embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing seven FSNs and three Tanzanian citizens. The U.S. Government holds Osama bin Ladin responsible.

17 November 1997. Al-Gama’at al-Islamiyya (IG) gunmen shoot and kill 58 tourists and four Egyptians and wounding 26 others at the Hatshepsut Temple in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor.

25 June 1996. A fuel truck carrying a bomb explodes outside the US military’s Khobar Towers housing facility in Dhahran, killing 19 US military personnel and wounding 515 people, including 240 US personnel. Several groups claim responsibility for the attack.

19 November 1995. A suicide bomber drove a vehicle into the Egyptian Embassy compound in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing at least 16 and injuring 60 people. Three militant Islamic groups claimed responsibility.

26 February 1993. The World Trade Center in New York City is badly damaged when a car bomb planted by Islamic terrorists explodes in an underground garage.

Sources: US Department of State; BBC; ERRI; Reuters;