At Least 6,248 People Died In These 5 Deadliest Terrorist Attacks In Human History

Throughout human history, we lost most people in wars and pandemic, but the loss in terrorist attacks may obsess witnesses till the very end of their life. All of a sudden, an explosion within seconds took the lives of hundred people around. Survivors were left in utter shock, everything was just at its complete peace seconds ago.

Yesterday, Lebanon recorded a disastrous explosion in Beirut, which claimed 78 lives and caused thousands to serious injuries. Though Lebanon PM announced the cause of the double blast was due to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely, others doubted possible terrorist attacks.

While waiting for the investigation from authorities, let’s take a look at 5 deadliest terrorist attacks in human history below.

2017 Mogadishu Bombing – 587 deaths

The suicide truck bombing in Mogadishu is the fifth deadliest terrorist attack recorded till date with at least 587 deaths and over 300 people injured. The incident took place on 14 October, 2017 in the capital of Somalia.

Specifically, a large truck loaded with explosives was detonated at a crossroads near Safari hotel where a lot of people were passing by. Near the vehicle was a fuel tank which worsens the truck explosion.

In fact, the truck might not intend to be detonated at that location. It’s reportedly stuck in a traffic jam and approached by security officers. Afraid of the officials’ search, the driver then accelerated and crashed the vehicle into a barrier, causing it to explode. Safari Hotel collapsed while the Qatari embassy nearby was seriously damaged.

1990 Massacre of Sri Lankan Police Officers – 774 deaths

This was probably the worst massacre of police force till date as at least 600 unarmed personnel of Sri Lanka police were killed. Some sources estimated there were 774 lives lost in total.

The horrible terrorist incident occurred on June 11 in 1990. In the morning, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam abducted some police officers at first before 250 armed members of them occupied the police stations and ordered all the police stations in eastern Sri Lanka to be vacated.

899 police officers were instructed to surrender by Inspector General of Police and the President to avoid mass killing. They laid down their weapons, being tied and taken to local jungles. There, they were lined up and shot dead. There were about 125 officers that had escaped the massacre.

2007 Yazidi Communities Bombings – 796 deaths

The bombings were the result of built-up tensions between Yazidi and Sunni Muslims. Prior to the attack, a 17-year-old Yazidi girl wanted to convert her religion to marri a Sunni. She was then stoned to death by Yazidi community.

In an act of revenge, Sunni gunmen shot 23 Yazidi men dead when they traveled on a bus. Not stopping there, on 14 August 2007, 4 co-ordinate suicide bombings took place in several Yazidi towns, causing 796 deaths and 1,500 injured people.

2014 Camp Speicher Massacre – 1095 deaths

The massacre was the deadliest attack from Islamic State of Irag and the Levant recorded. Victims were 1095 to 1700 Iraqi Army and non-Sunni militiamen cadets.

Reports have it that the cadets were forced to leave Camp Speicher to go home in civilian clothes. While they were walking on the highway, armed ISIL members stopped them and kidnapped to the Al-Qusour A-Re’asiya region. No one knew what happened exactly on that day but photos and satellite images showed masked ISIL fighters shooting hundreds of cadets while they were lying down.

Only a few cadets escaped by faking their deaths and covering themselves with their friends’ blood. Survivors narrated that the terrorists shot cadets one by one then shooting dozens of military personnel while they were lying down to make sure they were dead. Many cadets were thrown into the river.

The estimated deaths were up to 1,700 though nearly 11,000 cadets and soldiers were reported missing from Camp Speicher that year.

2001 September 11 attacks - 2,996 deaths

This deadliest terrorist attack in the human history is known to almost all Americans.

On early morning of September 11, 2001, four Boeing commercial airplanes were hijacked by 19 members from Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda while they were flying to California.

At 8:46 a.m, one of the hijacked airliner crashed the North Tower of World Trade Center. 7 minutes later, another plane crashed the South Tower, causing the buildings to collapse.

At 9:37 a.m, the third flight crashed the Pentagon, headquarters of US Defense Ministry, while the fourth one crashed in the southeast of Pittsburgh after the crew and passenger tried to regain control of the plane.

2,996 people had died, including all 19 hijackers on the planes. More than 6,000 were injured. None of the flight passengers and crew on the 4 hijacked flights could survive.

We do not want to evoke sorrow when writing this article of most disastrous terrorist attacks in human history. We want moral people to know the damage terrorists had caused and stay alert with possible temptations from them. We could only get rid of terrorists if everyone knew their true faces and voiced against them.

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