Jerusalem BMW attack

Jerusalem BMW attack
2008 Jerusalem BMW attack
Israel outline jerusalem.png
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The attack site
Location Jerusalem, Israel
Coordinates 31°46′44″N 35°13′30″E / 31.77889°N 35.225°E / 31.77889; 35.225
Date 22 September 2008
Attack type Vehicle attack
Weapon(s) BMW saloon car
Death(s) one(perpetrator
Injured 19
Perpetrator(s) Lone Palestinian assailant (Qassem Mughrabi).
A 2009 BMW 750i, similar to the BMW saloon car involved

The Jerusalem BMW attack was a terrorist attack which took place in Jerusalem, Israel on September 22, 2008 in which 19 people were injured by a BMW saloon car. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence analysts, this attack represents a new militant tactic which is less lethal but could prove more difficult to prevent than suicide bombings.[1]

Contents

Background

The attack was a third in a series of terrorist attacks involving a new tactic, using vehicles as weapons. According to Stratfor Global Intelligence, "while not thus far as deadly as suicide bombing", this tactic could prove more difficult to prevent. No single group has claimed responsibility for the incidents.[1]

On July 2, 2008, Husam Tayseer Dwayat, an Arab Israeli citizen from the Sur Baher neighborhood of East Jerusalem drove an earthmover along Jaffa Road in West Jerusalem, slamming into a bus and passing cars. Four people were killed and another 45 were injured.[1]

Later that month, on July 22, 2008, Ghassan Abu Tir, from the Umm Tuba neighborhood of East Jerusalem, drove a front-loader into traffic on King David Street in West Jerusalem, slamming into a bus and passing cars. Sixteen people were injured.[1]

The attack

On September 22, 2008 the perpetrator, Qassem Mughrabi, a 19-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem's Jabal Mukaber neighborhood, drove a black BMW Saloon into a group of off-duty soldiers standing on a Jerusalem street.[2] [3] 19 people were injured.[4]

Mughrabi was shot dead at the scene[5] by off-duty soldier Lt. Elad Amar. Amar told Army Radio that the attacker "drove towards the soldiers at top speed, plowed onto the traffic island, ran over soldiers and civilians and then continued, ramming into a building. At that point I assessed that it was a terror attack and decided to neutralize the driver so that he wouldn't be able to reverse the car and continue the attack."[6]

The perpetrator

According to the Palestinian Ma'an news agency, Qassem Mughrabi was a member of Hamas.[7] Mughrabi's family denied that the event was a terror attack. Mahmoud Mughrabi, Qassem's father, said his son did not have a driving license and apparently lost control of the car. "My son was murdered, they killed him. He did not carry out a terrorist attack. This was a car accident." However, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were convinced the attack was politically motivated. "We're 100 percent sure ... he deliberately drove into people," Rosenfeld said.[8]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d Israel: Vehicle Attacks - A New Militant Tactic?. Stratfor Global Intelligence
  2. ^ Palestinian Car Rams Israelis, By ISABEL KERSHNER, September 22, 2008, New York Times [1]
  3. ^ Sep 22, 2008, 15 wounded in terror attack at busy Jerusalem intersection, By ETGAR LEFKOVITS, SHELLY PAZ, Jerusalem Post [2]
  4. ^ Terrorist in car rams 19 in J'lem, By Jonathan Lis
  5. ^ Palestinian drives into crowd, injures 15, police say, CNN
  6. ^ 'He drove towards group at top speed,' Jerusalem Post, Sept. 23, 2008
  7. ^ 'J'lem terrorist was a Hamas member', by Etgar Lefkovits, Jerusalem Post Sep 23, 2008 [3]
  8. ^ "Father of Jerusalem attacker: My son's no terrorist". Haaretz. 2008-09-23. http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023694.html. Retrieved 2008-09-23. 

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