Timeline of the War on Terror

The War on Terror is the campaign launched by the United States of America in response to the September 11 attacks against organizations designated with terrorism.^[1][2] The campaign, whose stated objective was eliminating international terrorism, began in 2001.^[3] The following is a timeline of events linked to the War on Terror.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

2001

Twin towers of the World Trade Center burning on September 11, 2001.

• September 11 – The September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, United States, killed 2,993 people.^[4][5]
• September 14 – Operation Noble Eagle begins, the United States and Canadian military launch operations related to homeland security in response to the September 11 attacks^[6]
• September 18 and October 9 – 2001 anthrax attacks kill 5 and infect 17 others by anthrax spores in New York City, New York, Boca Raton, Florida, and Washington D.C. in the United States.^[7]
• September 20 – The phrase "War on Terror" was first officially used.^[8]
• October 7 – The War in Afghanistan begins.^[9]
• October 9 – Operation Eagle Assist begins, 13 NATO nations execute operational sorties over the skies of the United States in NATO AWACS aircraft.
• October 16 – Operation Active Endeavour officially begins.^[10][11][12]
• October 26 – Congress pass the Patriot Act this allows search and electronic surveillance powers of federal agencies while investigating persons suspected of terrorism.
• December 18 – Operation Enduring Freedom – Kyrgyzstan begins^[13]

2002

Multinational warships assigned to CTF-150 taking part in Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa, assemble in a formation.

• A team of Special Air Service and Delta Force was sent into Indian-administered Kashmir to hunt for Osama bin Laden after reports that he was being sheltered by the Kashmiri militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.^[14]
• January 15 – Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines begins as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Southern Philippines.^[15]
• February 27 – The Georgia Train and Equip Program begins.^[16][17][18]
• April 11 – The Ghriba synagogue bombing in Tunisia kills 19 and injures over 30 people, signaling the beginning of the Insurgency in the Maghreb
• May 16 – Operation Eagle Assist ends.
• October 7 – Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa begins.^[19]
• October 12 – The Bali bombings in Indonesia kill 202 and injure 209 people.
• November 26 – The Central Intelligence Agency begins a series of ongoing Predator drone strikes on Al-Qaeda in Yemen^[20]
• November 28 – The Mombasa attacks kill 13 and injuring 80 people.

2003

Saddam Hussein being pulled from his hideaway in Operation Red Dawn, 13 December 2003.

• January 3 to April 12 – Anti-war groups across the world organized public protests against war with Iraq. About 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests.^[21]
• February 5 – Colin Powell addressed a plenary session of the United Nations Security Council, stating categorically that Saddam Hussein was working to obtain key components to produce nuclear weapons.
• March 20 – The Iraq War begins. President George W. Bush refers to it as "the central front in the War on Terror".^[22][23]
• May 16 – The Casablanca bombings kill 45 and injure over 100 people.
• November 15 and 20 – The Istanbul bombings kill 57 and injure around 700 people.
• December 13 – Saddam Hussein is found and captured by U.S. forces in Ad-Dawr, Iraq.^[24]

2004

• March 11 – The Madrid train bombings kill 191 and injure over 2,000 people.
• March 16 – War in North-West Pakistan begins.
• April 24 – The Georgia Train and Equip Program ends
• May 29 – The Khobar massacre kills 22 and injures 25 people.
• June 18 – The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, begins a series of ongoing attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). These attacks sought to defeat the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants who were thought to have found a safe haven in Pakistan.^[25]

2005

Emergency vehicles at Russell Square after the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

• January 1 – The Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program begins.
• July 7 – The London bombings kill 52 people and injure 700 more.^[26][27][28]

2006

• June 4 – Islamist insurgents begin taking over large parts of Somalia.
• July 20 – The War in Somalia (2006–09) begins when U.S. backed Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia to support the Somali Transitional Government against Islamist insurgents
• November 5 – Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death by hanging, he is hanged on December 30 at Camp Justice in Baghdad.

2007

• February 6 – Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara begins.^[29]
• February 11 – The Algiers bombings kill 33 and injure over 130 people.

2008

• Operation Enduring Freedom – Caribbean and Central America begins^[30]
• June 2 – The Danish embassy bombing in Islamabad killed between 6-8 people and injured over 20.

2009

• January 30 – The War in Somalia (2006–09) ends after Ethiopian forces withdraw from Somalia.
• January/February – The War in Somalia (2009–present) begins.
• July 26 – The Boko Haram insurgency begins.
• August 6 – Newly elected Obama administration has stopped using the phrase "war on terror";^[31] John Brennan announces that the U.S. is "at war with al Qaeda", not involved in a "global war on terror"^[32]
• November 5 – The Fort Hood shooting kills 13 and injures 33.

2011

Diagram of Osama bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He was killed there on 2 May 2011.

• February 23 – Islamist militants begin an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.
• May 2 – Osama bin Laden is killed in a raid by United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group on his residence in Abbottabad, Pakistan.^[33]
• December 18 – U.S. military forces withdraw from Iraq, ending the Iraq War.

2012

• January 16 – The Northern Mali conflict begins when Islamic insurgents (affiliated with Al Qaeda) launch an offensive against the Mali government.
• September 11 – The Benghazi attack by Islamist militants kills 4 and injures 7

2013

• January 13 – The French Military, supported by several African nations intervene in the Northern Mali Conflict.
• January 16 – The In Amenas hostage crisis in Algeria begins, ending on January 19, which kills 40 hostages.
• May 11 – The Reyhanlı bombings in Turkey kill 52 and injure 140.
• September 21 to 24 – The Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya kills 67 and injures 175.

2014

Two U.S. F-15E's flying over Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria, 23 September 2014.

• June 3 – Operation Enduring Freedom – Kyrgyzstan ends.
• June 13 – International campaign against ISIL begins with the American-led intervention in Iraq against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Al-Qaeda.
• September 22 – The international campaign against ISIS continues with the American-led intervention in Syria
• December 16 - The Peshawar School Attack in Pakistan
• December 28 – NATO officially ended combat operations in Afghanistan ^[34] ending the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014)

2015

• January 1 – The War in Afghanistan (2015–present) begins.
• January 7 – The Charlie Hebdo shooting kills 12 and injures 11 people.
• January 9 – The Porte de Vincennes hostage crisis kills 4 and injures 9 people.
• January 27 – The Corinthia Hotel attack kills 10 people.
• February 14 – The Copenhagen shootings kills 3 and injures 5.
• February 16 – In support of the International campaign against ISIS the Egyptian military attack ISIS positions in Libya in amidst the Libyan Civil War.
• February 20 – The Northern Mali conflict ends.
• March 18 – The Bardo National Museum attack kills 23 and injures about 50.
• March 19 – The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen escalates into the Yemeni Civil War.
• March 20 – The Sana'a mosque bombings in Yemen kill 142 and injure 351.
• May 3 – The Curtis Culwell Center attack injures 1.
• June 26 – The 2015 Ramadan attacks kill over 403 and injure over 336.
• October – U.S. military personnel were deployed to Cameroon to support African forces in a non-combat role in their fight against ISIS.
• November 12 - The 2015 Beirut bombings kill 43 and injure at least 240
• November 13/14 – The November 2015 Paris attacks kill at least 139 and injure 352 people.
• November 20 – The Bamako hotel attack in Mali kills at least 27 and injures 2.

2016

• January 14 - The 2016 Jakarta attacks kills 2 and injures 24.
• March 22 - The 2016 Brussels bombings kills 31 and injures 300.

Notes

1. Combs, Cindy C.; Slann, Martin (2007). Encyclopedia of Terrorism. New York NY: Infobase Publishing. pp. 417–424. ISBN 0-8160-6277-3.
2. "Homeland Security: War on Terror Timeline" (PDF). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
3. "Presidential Address to the Nation" (Press release). The White House. October 7, 2001.
4. "War Casualties Pass 9/11 Death Toll". CBS News. September 22, 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
5. Brzezinski, Zbigniew (March 25, 2007). "Terrorized by 'War on Terror'". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
6. "Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom: Questions and Answers About U.S. Military Personnel, Compensation, and Force Structure" (PDF). Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Retrieved 21 December 2009..
7. Lines, Andy; Rock, Lucy (October 13, 2001). "War On Terror: ANTHRAX ATTACK IN NEW YORK; NBC woman tests positive amid germ blitz fear.". The Free Library (The Mirror). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
8. "Transcript of President Bush's address". CNN. 20 September 2001.
9. Bowman, Karlyn (July 24, 2008). "America and the War on Terror" (PDF). American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
10. "NATO welcomes Russian offer to contribute to expanded anti-terror patrols in Mediterranean". Istanbul, Turkey: AP Worldstream. June 28, 2004. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
11. Whitmore, Brian (March 28, 2004). "NATO faces challenges as it retools for the war on terror". The Boston Globe (Mons, Belgium). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
12. Josar, David (September 27, 2003). "Jones: EUCOM war role could increase". Stuttgart, Germany: Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
13. Daniel P. Bolger, Why we lost: A general's inside account of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 2014, xiii
14. "SAS joins Kashmir hunt for bin Laden". Telegraph.co.uk. 23 February 2002. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
15. Brookes, Peter. "Flashpoint: No bungle in the jungle". Armed Fources Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
16. "Why side with Sakaashvili?". Oxford Analytica. November 22, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
17. Benjamin, Daniel (April 2005). "2". America and the World in the Age of Terror (1 ed.). Center for Strategic & International Studies. pp. 37–46. ISBN 0-89206-452-8. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
18. Wheeler, Kurtis; Stillings, Kris (2006). "In the Republic of Georgia: Cooperative engagement in the war on terror". Marine Corps Gazette. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
19. "Intelligence Center offers MTTs on cultural awareness, intel topics". Infantry Magazine. May–June 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
20. Walter Pincus (November 26, 2002). "U.S. Says Yemen Aided Missile Strike". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
21. Callinicos, Alex (March 19, 2005). "Anti-war protests do make a difference". Socialist Worker (1943). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
22. Bush, George W. (September 9, 2003). "A Central Front in the War on Terror, From the President's speech to the Nation". Retrieved April 3, 2010.
23. Bush, George W. (August 21, 2006). "Press Conference by the President; White House Conference Center Briefing Room". Washington DC, United States. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
24. "Saddam Captured 'Like a Rat' in Raid – Fox News". Fox News. October 21, 2011.
25. The CIA's Silent War in Pakistan, TIME, June 1, 2009
26. Cole, Juan (July 8, 2005). "The time of revenge has come". Salon. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
27. Croft, Stuart (October 2, 2006). Culture, Crisis and America's War on Terror. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. pp. 232–234. ISBN 0-521-68733-0. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
28. Wade, Marianne; Maljevic, Almir (November 18, 2009). A War on Terror? (1 ed.). New York, NY: Springer. p. 336. ISBN 0-387-89290-7. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
29. "Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS)". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
30. "Operation Enduring Freedom - Caribbean, Central America (OEF-CCA)". Retrieved 19 February 2015.
31. Foon Rhee, "Cheney blasts Obama on Christmas Day plane scare", Boston Globe, 30 December 2009.
32. Toby Harnden, "Barack Obama adviser rejects 'global war on terror'", Telegraph, 7 August 2009.
33. "Osama Bin Laden Death Prompts Networks to Break Into Programming". The Hollywood Reporter. May 1, 2011.
34. "U.S. formally ends the war in Afghanistan". CBA News. 28 December 2014.

References

• "Homeland Security: War on Terror Timeline" (PDF). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
• Smith, Preston G. (February 28, 2003). Encyclopedia of World Terrorism. M.E. Sharpe. p. 600. ISBN 1-56324-807-7.
• Thompson, Paul (2004). The Terror Timeline. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-078338-9.