This blog is an attempt to track terrorist attacks worldwide on a weekly basis. While recognising the challenges in defining ‘terrorism’, the incidents listed here will be limited to attacks committed – or claimed – by known terrorist groups (Al Qaeda, Islamic State, FARC, etc.) or those where there is a clear underlying ideological, religious or political motive. Only actual attacks carried out, and not those thwarted through arrests, will be listed (for unsuccessful plots check out Borealis’ X feed @borealissaves). This list makes no claim to be exhaustive as it is limited by time and resources available to scan open source intelligence (OSINT).
Events where information is still being gathered may be included with a caveat that they may not turn out in the end to be terrorist in nature. Crimes motivated solely by hate will NOT appear here. Borealis realises that this too is problematic but believes that a distinction between terrorism and hate crimes is worth maintaining.
After the listing of individual incidents analysis of the visible trendlines will be briefly discussed. Multiple, independent sources (OSINT) will be listed wherever possible.
| Date | Location | Method | Responsibility | Casualties | Type |
| Feb 26 | Burundi | guns | RED Tabara | 9 d 5 w | Ethno-nationalist? |
| Feb 27 | Red Sea | missiles | Houthis | 0 | Islamist |
| Feb 28 | Northern Israel | missiles | Hamas | 0 | Islamist |
| Mali | car bomb, guns | several d | Islamist | ||
| Mar 1 | Bengalaru, India | IED | 8 w | ||
| Mar 3 | Zurich, Switzerland | knife | ISIS | 1 w | Islamist |
Analysis
In all honesty this was a slow week in terrorism: only six attacks came across Borealis’ radar (as noted in the introduction, this list does not claim to be exhaustive). What this demonstrates is that the scourge of terrorism, which is real and serious, is not as pervasive as some are saying. This is particularly true of right-wing terrorism, which is all but non-existent as far as attacks are concerned (especially when compared to the far more frequent jihadi acts). The moral of all this: be careful when consuming ‘analysis’ from self-styled ‘experts’ on the nature and scale of terrorism worldwide.
Sources
Burundi Says Main Rebel Group Killed 9 in ‘Cowardly Attack’ (thedefensepost.com); Burundi rebel group kills nine in overnight attack – government – The East African
Rocket fire reported off Yemen in Red Sea in a new suspected attack by Houthi militia | Arab News
Hamas claims fired 40 rockets from Lebanon toward IDF installations in northern Israe (ynetnews.com)
Suspected Jihadists Kill Several Soldiers in Mali (thedefensepost.com)
Blast at cafe in India injures 8, the authorities say | The Straits Times; Rameshwaram cafe explosion was IED blast, confirms Siddaramaiah | 10 points | Latest News India – Hindustan Times; Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast: Nine persons injured in low-intensity explosion, use of IED suspected – The Hindu; Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Live Updates: NIA team visits explosion site; probe under way – The Times of India (indiatimes.com); Bengaluru Rameshwaram cafe blast | Bengaluru City Police manage to get partial image of suspected bomber’s face; manhunt makes no breakthrough yet – The Hindu; Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, other officials get bomb threat email – The Hindu; ‘Will cause large explosions’: Karnataka CM, other top officials get bomb threat emails | India News – Times of India (indiatimes.com)
Orthodox Jew Stabbed by Arab Teen in Zurich, in Critical Condition | The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com | David Israel | 23 Adar I 5784 – Sunday, March 3, 2024 | JewishPress.com; LATEST: What do we know about the stabbing of Jewish man in Zurich (thelocal.ch); Zurich terrorist swore allegiance to ISIS (ynetnews.com)
