Just 2 Seconds (56 page)

614.
Date: January 26, 2006
Target: Industry Minister Osama al-Najafi
Location: Balad, Iraq
Details: A roadside bomb exploded near the first car in Najafi's convoy. He escaped unharmed, but three of his bodyguards were killed.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

615.
Date: February 13, 2006
Target: Former Minister Ayham al-Samarie
Location: Baghdad, Iraq
Details: A roadside bomb exploded as al-Samarie's three-car motorcade went past. His vehicle was not hit by the blast, but another car was struck and two of his bodyguards were wounded.

616.
Date: February 21, 2006
Target: Displacement and Migration Minister Suhaila Abd Jaafar
Location: Baghdad, Iraq
Details: Jaafar survived a roadside bomb attack on her convoy, but three bodyguards were injured.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

617.
Date: April 25, 2006
Target: Secretary of Public Safety Manuel Diaz Lerma
Location: Mexicali, Mexico
Details: Diaz was traveling with his chauffeur in an armored Suburban, followed by another Suburban (without armor) carrying three bodyguards. The bodyguards noticed several people dressed in military-type clothing carrying long weapons. Approximately 22 attackers in hoods and bullet-resistant vests were positioned along four or five blocks when they began firing at Diaz' motorcade with AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. Diaz' driver accelerated through the ambush and Diaz escaped unharmed. The follow-up vehicle was riddled with bullet holes and all three bodyguards were wounded, two critically.
(4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)

618.
Date: May 2, 2006
Target: Governor Maamoun Sami Rasheed
Location: Ramadi, Iraq
Details: A suicide bomber drove his car toward Rasheed's vehicle and blew himself up. Three of Rasheed's bodyguards were killed in the attack, and at least five people were wounded. A US Marine detachment with the convoy exchanged fire with unknown gunmen during the attack. Rasheed said it was the ninth attempt to kill him. His son was kidnapped in 2005, but returned safely.
(3-STARS: Protector action during the attack favorably influenced safety/survival.)

619.
Date: May 30, 2006
Target: Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis
Location: Athens, Greece
Details: A bomb exploded near the home of Voulgarakis at a time when he would normally have been passing by on his way to work. He had reportedly been delayed a few minutes from leaving. The bomb reportedly contained four to seven pounds of dynamite and was strapped to a bicycle seat near a car. Other reports said the device was under the car. The blast destroyed several parked cars, but no one was injured. Voulgarakis was targeted in a 2003 firebomb attack by suspected anarchists, which destroyed three cars and damaged a building.

620.
Date: July 31, 2006
Target: Governor Gul Agha Sherzai
Location: Nangarhar, Afghanistan
Details: A bomb planted in a parked car exploded as Sherzai walked out of a mosque after prayer service, killing at least five policemen and wounding 10 more. Sherzai was reportedly fifty feet from the blast and was not injured. The car carrying the policemen was destroyed while a second car nearby carrying the governor's bodyguards was damaged.

621.
Date: August 14, 2006
Target: Envoy Bashir Wali Mohammed
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: Mohammed's motorcade was returning from a ceremony. Mines packed with hundreds of ball bearings and hidden in a parked three-wheeler taxi exploded as his convoy passed. They missed his car, but hit one of his escort vehicles, killing the four security men inside. The damaged Land Rover continued for about 50 yards before crashing through a wall. Shrapnel from the blast killed three passers-by and wounded eight more. The Tamil Tigers were blamed for the blast.

622.
Date: September 3, 2006
Target: Senator John McCain and others
Location: Republic of Georgia
Details: It was reported that a surface-to-air missile was fired at a helicopter escorting McCain and a Senate delegation during their European tour. The information was made public after a helicopter carrying Georgia's defense minister was damaged by large-caliber machine gun fire and forced to make an emergency landing. No one was injured.

623.
Date: September 18, 2006
Target: President Abdullahi Yusuf
Location: Baidoa, Somalia
Details: Yusuf escaped an assassination attempt unharmed when a car bomb exploded as his motorcade went past outside the parliament building. The blast killed his brother and four other members of the presidential detail. In an ensuing gun battle, six additional attackers were killed in a gun battle with Yusuf's bodyguards after the explosion. No one claimed responsibility for the blast. In a raid on September 28, police arrested three suspected members of a fundamentalist Islamic group and recovered explosives.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

624.
Date: October 4, 2006
Target: Deputy Prime Minister Naima Behljuljija
Location: Gnjilane, Serbia (Kosovo)
Details: A bomb exploded near Behljuljija's residence. Although the device was said to be powerful, it caused only minor damage; there were no reports of injuries. It was the fourth bomb attack in Gnjilane in several weeks. Bombs also targeted the car of Kosovo's Internal Affairs Minister Fatmir Rexhepi and the homes of two chief government advisors.

625.
Date: October 14, 2006
Target: Governor Gulab Mangal
Location: Eastern Laghman Province, Afghanistan
Details: Mangal escaped injury when a roadside bomb exploded as he arrived at his compound. The device was placed in a plastic bag and hidden in an irrigation ditch, and detonated by remote control. About a dozen suspects were later arrested. It was the second assassination attempt against him within two months.

626.
Date: October 20, 2006
Target: Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
Location: Gaza Strip
Details: Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Haniyeh's convoy, destroying one vehicle in a burst of flames. Nobody was injured. Haniyeh's armored Mercedes wasn't hit, but the last car in the motorcade burst into flames and was destroyed. Haniyeh travels in a convoy of more than 10 vehicles and was believed to be about a quarter-mile away at the time of the shooting. Hamas officials accused Fatah-affiliated gunmen of carrying out the attack. Fatah denied involvement.

Section 1E: Failed, Aborted, or Prevented Incidents Worldwide

627.
Date: December 11, 1960
Target: President-elect John F. Kennedy
Location: Palm Beach, Florida
Details: Kennedy was staying at his father's home in Florida, following his election victory. He emerged from the house to go to mass, accompanied by his wife, daughter, and several nieces and nephews. Across the street, Richard Pavlick sat in his car and watched Kennedy prepare to leave. On the seat next to Pavlick were many sticks of dynamite wired to a knife switch. He planned to ram Kennedy's car and throw the switch, killing Kennedy and himself in the process. Seeing the children with the President-elect, he decided to kill Kennedy another day and left. Pavlick had visited the compound to observe security prior to this aborted attempt. Later, he visited a church the President-elect frequented, to learn about its interior. Police were tipped off to Pavlick by a postmaster who had received alarming letters from him. Four days after the aborted attempt at Kennedy's home, Pavlick was arrested without incident. They found with him the sticks of dynamite, and a letter, written in the past tense, explaining why he had killed Kennedy.

628.
Date: September 5, 1961
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: France
Details: A 54-pound butane bomb and 20 pounds of plastic explosives were buried in sand near a bridge over the Seine River. The plan was to explode the bomb when De Gaulle's car passed by, and then for several OAS terrorists to open fire with automatic weapons. The OAS bomb triggerman lost his nerve as the motorcade approached, and the attack was not launched.

629.
Date: June 23, 1962
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: France
Details: De Gaulle's car was to be ambushed along the road to Rebrechien, where he was to attend a wedding. Unaware of the plot, he had taken a helicopter to the ceremony instead.

630.
Date: June 25, 1962
Target: President Charles De Gaulle
Location: France
Details: Another ambush was planned on De Gaulle's car. Police saw the OAS cars staged for the attack, and the terrorists were forced to flee.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)