Top 10 Most Devastating Terrorist Attacks Around the Globe

Metrojet Flight 9268 was a Russian airline flight operated by Metrojet, which took off from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. The plane crashed in the central Sinai Peninsula at 4:13 UTC on October 31, 2015. The aircraft, an Airbus A321-231 from the A320 family, was carrying 217 passengers, including 25 children, and 7 crew members. Most of the passengers were Russian nationals, primarily tourists. Tragically, all 224 individuals aboard perished, making it the deadliest plane crash in Russian aviation history and the worst crash in Egypt’s history. This was also the deadliest accident involving an Airbus A320 family aircraft. The Airbus A321-231, owned by AerCap and leased out, was 18 years old at the time of the accident. It had previously been operated by Middle East Airlines, Onur Air, and Saudi Arabian Airlines before being acquired by Kolavia in 2012 and later by Metrojet. The aircraft had completed nearly 21,000 flights and over 56,000 flight hours.

Flight 9268 departed Sharm el-Sheikh for St. Petersburg at 5:51 AM local time, with 217 passengers and 7 crew members aboard. The crew lost contact with Cyprus Air Traffic Control 23 minutes later. Russia's Federal Aviation Agency confirmed the plane disappeared from radar. Initially, Egyptian crash investigation chief Ayman al-Muqqadam stated that the airline had reported the plane as still safe, claiming contact had been made with Turkish air traffic control as the aircraft flew through Turkish airspace. Flightradar24 reported via Twitter that it had not confirmed the crash, noting the aircraft had descended about 1,500 meters before losing contact. Russian media later revealed that the pilot may have signaled a technical issue and requested an emergency landing before the plane vanished, though Egyptian officials did not confirm this. Other sources claimed no distress signal was sent by the captain. On the same day, the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry issued an official statement on the crash. The location of the crash in central Sinai had poor weather conditions, making it difficult for rescue teams to reach the scene.

The Istanbul Airport Suicide Bombing occurred on June 28, 2016, when explosions and gunfire erupted at Terminal 2 (international flights) of Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. By the following day, reports confirmed at least 41 dead and 239 injured, with all three terrorists also killed. Gunshots were heard in the airport parking lot, while explosions took place at the entrance to the international terminal, believed to have been caused by suicide bombers. Various reports indicated multiple explosions occurred throughout the airport. Four armed men were seen fleeing the scene after the blasts. Earlier in 2016, Istanbul had already endured three major terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings in January and March, both attributed to the Islamic State (ISIL), and a car bombing in early June claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an extremist faction of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Around 10:00 PM Istanbul time, two attackers approached a security checkpoint with an X-ray machine and opened fire. Police officers returned fire. The attackers then detonated their suicide vests. Security camera footage later showed one of the bombers entering Terminal 2 and detonating his explosive device. Another blast reportedly occurred in the parking lot in front of the terminal. Additional footage revealed one attacker shooting inside the terminal before being shot by a nearby security officer, after which the bomb exploded. As the attacks unfolded, hundreds of passengers and people inside the airport scrambled for cover in stores, bathrooms, and under benches. Two attackers detonated their suicide devices, while another was reportedly shot and killed by security forces. According to reports, four armed men were seen fleeing the scene after the explosions.

A series of shootings and bomb explosions rocked the 10th and 11th districts of Paris, France. Beginning at 21:16 (CET) on Friday, November 13, 2015, and continuing until 00:58 (CET) on November 14, explosions and gunfire erupted at various locations, including the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, and across the Île-de-France region. At least three separate bomb blasts and six shootings were reported around the city, with one bombing occurring near the Stade de France in the northern suburbs of Saint-Denis. The most deadly attack took place at the Bataclan theater, where terrorists took hostages before being confronted by police at 00:58 (CET). The attack resulted in at least 132 deaths and 352 injuries, with 99 in critical condition. An estimated eight terrorists were involved, with seven confirmed dead. Authorities continued searching for the remaining attacker and any accomplices. In response to the attack, French President François Hollande declared a state of emergency and closed the country's borders at 23:58 CET. This was the first state of emergency in France since 1961, during the Algerian War, and the first curfew since 1944.

On November 14, 2015, the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. President Hollande stated that the attack was coordinated, planned, and executed from abroad with internal assistance, calling it "an act of war" and pledging to retaliate against IS on any territory. The attack became the deadliest in France since World War II and the bloodiest attack in the European Union since the 2004 Madrid bombings. Prior to the Paris attack, IS had already struck Lebanon on November 12, killing 43 people, and 14 days earlier, Metrojet Flight 9268 from Russia crashed, killing 217 passengers and seven crew members, with IS's Sinai branch claiming responsibility. France had already been on high alert since the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015, which killed 17, including civilians and police officers.

On the morning of November 14, 2015, around 4:30 AM, a series of bombings and shootings took place across Paris, France, including three explosions near the Stade de France stadium. Three terrorists stormed the Bataclan Theatre during a concert, taking over 100 hostages and opening fire on innocent people. Panic and fear spread throughout the country. Witnesses reported that the attackers reloaded their weapons multiple times as they fired on the crowd. Belgian authorities later killed Mohamed Belkaid, a suspect linked to the Paris massacre during a raid on March 15, 2016. Two suspects, including Salah Abdeslam, a key figure in the attack, managed to escape. The attack on November 14, 2015, killed over 130 people.

Earlier, in August 2015, another shooting incident occurred aboard a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris, leaving at least three injured. On November 13 (local time), a coordinated series of attacks occurred at seven locations throughout Paris, including shootings and hostage situations at the Bataclan Theatre, two explosions near Stade de France, and five more explosions near Bataclan. The death toll that night was at least 128, with more than 180 injured, 80 seriously. This remains the deadliest attack on France since World War II.

The Charlie Hebdo Shooting Incident, also known as the Charlie Hebdo massacre, took place on January 7, 2015, at the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, located at 10 Nicolas-Appert Street, Paris. The assault resulted in the deaths of 12 people and left 11 others injured, including four with critical wounds. In the aftermath, a police officer and four hostages in a nearby supermarket were killed. During a police raid, three suspects were killed, while one officer was injured. The victims included five well-known French cartoonists—Charb, Cabu, Tignous, Wolinski, and Honoré—as well as economist Bernard Maris. This became the deadliest incident in France since the 1961 Strasbourg-Paris train bombing, which claimed 28 lives.

Charlie Hebdo had long been a target of extremist factions worldwide due to its controversial religious satire. Its mocking of religious figures, especially radical religious zealots, had made it the center of numerous legal battles, particularly with the French Association of Islamic Organizations (AGRIF). In 2006, Charlie Hebdo republished 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad originally printed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. This prompted immediate lawsuits, but the cases were dismissed in both the lower and appellate courts. In 2011, after publishing a special issue satirizing Tunisia’s Renaissance Party, Charlie Hebdo became the target of further threats, leading to its office being destroyed by a Molotov cocktail attack. Since then, the building has been under constant security. In January 2013, the magazine published *La Vie de Mahomet*, a comic series about the Prophet Muhammad, leading the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to list Charb among those targeted for their alleged crimes against Islam.

The London Bombings of July 7, 2005 (commonly referred to as the 7/7 attacks) were a series of coordinated suicide bombings in central London, targeting commuters during the morning rush hour. On Thursday, July 7, 2005, four radical Islamic extremists simultaneously detonated bombs across the London Underground system, followed by a fourth explosion on a double-decker bus at Tavistock Square. The bombings claimed the lives of 52 innocent people and injured over 700 others, marking the deadliest terrorist event in the UK since the Lockerbie bombing of 1988 and the country's first-ever Islamic suicide attack.

The bombs were homemade devices, constructed using organic peroxide (acetone peroxide) and carried in backpacks. The attacks were followed by a second round of bombings on July 21, 2005, which failed to cause fatalities or injuries. The July 7 bombings occurred just days after London won the bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, which underscored the city’s multicultural identity. The bombs targeted the London Underground system, with explosions occurring almost simultaneously at around 8:50 AM at three locations: between Aldgate and Liverpool Street on the Circle Line, between Russell Square and King’s Cross on the Piccadilly Line, and at Edgware Road on the Circle Line. Nearly an hour later, a double-decker bus at Upper Woburn Place, near Tavistock Square, was also attacked, with its roof torn off.

On July 22, 2011, a massive explosion at Norway's government headquarters in Oslo claimed the lives of 7 people and caused extensive damage to the Prime Minister's office. Shortly after, a shooting spree occurred at a youth camp of the ruling Labour Party, killing 80 people. The windows of the Prime Minister's office, where Jens Stoltenberg worked, were shattered, but fortunately, he was unharmed as he was working from home at the time of the bombing. In addition to the 7 fatalities, dozens were injured in the blast. No group immediately took responsibility for the attack, which occurred at 3:30 PM Oslo time (8:30 PM in Hanoi). The explosion scattered glass, bricks, and documents on the streets around the damaged buildings, while smoke billowed for hours from the site.

Witness Oistein Mjarum, head of communications at the Norwegian Red Cross, described how the blast occurred in a busy area on a Friday afternoon, with many people on the streets and working in the buildings affected. A few hours after the bombing in central Oslo, a mass shooting took place at the Labour Party's youth camp on the small island of Utoeya, located west of the capital. The suspect, who was apprehended on site, was confirmed to be a Norwegian citizen. Eyewitnesses described the 32-year-old attacker as having blond hair, a tall build, and wearing a police officer disguise. Armed with a handgun, assault rifle, and shotgun, the shooter posed as a police officer, taking a ferry to the island and claiming to investigate the bombing. He then ordered the campers to form a circle before opening fire.

The September 11 attacks, a series of coordinated suicide terrorist attacks, took place on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. A group of hijackers simultaneously seized control of four domestic flights within the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York. Each plane struck one of the towers, with an 18-minute gap between the two crashes. Within two hours, both towers collapsed, leaving only rubble. A third group of hijackers took control of a plane and crashed it into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to resist the hijackers.

The destruction of the World Trade Center and the surrounding infrastructure severely damaged New York City's economy and triggered a global economic downturn. U.S. and Canadian airspace was shut down until September 13, and trading on Wall Street was halted until September 17. Many places were closed, evacuated, or put on alert due to concerns of further attacks. The cleanup at Ground Zero was completed by May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired within a year. The attacks resulted in 2,977 deaths, over 25,000 injuries, and long-term health consequences, with infrastructure and property damage amounting to at least $10 billion. This remains the deadliest terrorist attack in history and the most lethal event for U.S. firefighters and law enforcement officers, with 340 and 72 fatalities, respectively.

On July 22, 2016, two shootings took place outside and inside the Olympia Shopping Mall (Olympia-Einkaufszentrum, OEZ) in the Moosach district of Munich, Germany. Authorities reported that the shooter, an 18-year-old German of Iranian descent, opened fire in front of and inside a McDonald's restaurant across from the mall, targeting both customers inside and pedestrians. He then entered the mall and continued the shooting spree. In total, 10 people were killed, including children, teenagers, and the shooter himself. Another 20 people were injured, with three in critical condition.

The shooter acted alone and eventually took his own life. Additional reports from the police on August 16 revealed that after the shooting, he fled to an unlocked apartment where he encountered people but did not threaten or harm anyone. He then hid in a parking garage before coming outside and taking his life when confronted by the police. This shooting took place less than a week after a suspected Islamic terrorist attacked passengers with an axe on a train in Würzburg. A German security expert told the BBC that Germany was a target due to its military involvement in combating ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

On March 22, 2016, at least three explosions occurred in Brussels, Belgium. Two blasts were at Brussels Airport around 8:00 AM, and one occurred at the Maalbeek Metro Station at 9:11 AM. The attacks resulted in 38 deaths (including three perpetrators) and about 300 injuries, with 61 in critical condition (four later died in hospital). The victims were from 40 different countries. A rifle and a third bomb were found during a search at the airport and were safely detonated. The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack. CCTV footage showed three suspects believed to be involved in the airport bombing. Belgian police later released images of the suspects. Two of the perpetrators were suicide bombers, while a bomb belt believed to belong to the third suspect was also discovered and safely destroyed during a controlled explosion.

In security footage, the three men were seen pushing luggage, likely containing the bombs intended to explode at the airport. A taxi driver who had transported them to the airport tried to help with their luggage but was instructed to leave. Two of the men were suspected of being the suicide bombers, both wearing black gloves on their left hands, possibly to conceal detonators. Several hours after the attacks, a taxi driver directed police to a house in Schaarbeek, a northern suburb of Brussels, where the suspects had been picked up. Police raided the house and found a bomb, chemicals, and an ISIL flag. One man was arrested, although it was still unclear if he was the third suspect the police were hunting.