1995 Islamist terror bombings in France
| 1995 Paris Métro and RER bombings | |
|---|---|
| Location | Paris, France |
| Date | 25 July 1995 – 17 October 1995 |
| Weapons | Improvised explosive devices, school bombing |
| Deaths | 8 |
|
Non-fatal injuries
|
157 |
| Perpetrator | Armed Islamic Group |
The 1995 bombings in France were carried out by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), who were broadening the Algerian Civil War to France. In total, these attacks killed eight and injured more than 100 people. The assassination of Abdelbaki Sahraoui, a co-founder of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) who opposed attacks in France, was a prelude of this extension of the Islamists' terrorist campaign to France.
On 25 July 1995, a gas bottle exploded in the Saint-Michel station of line B of the RER (Paris regional train network), killing eight and wounding 80.
On 17 August, a bomb at the Arc de Triomphe wounded 17 people. On 26 August, a huge bomb was found on the railroad tracks of a high-speed rail line near Lyon. On 3 September, a bomb malfunctioned in a square in Paris, wounding four. On 7 September, a car bomb at a Jewish school in Lyon wounded 14.
Additional bombs were found and cleared during morning searches of Metro and RER stations, without any casualties. They were often found in restrooms. Increased security mandated the removal of all public trash receptacles, in order to prevent the possibility of bombs being hidden within.
A leader of the group, Khaled Kelkal, was identified through fingerprints left on unexploded bombs. He was killed on 29 September by members of the French EPIGN gendarmerie unit when resisting arrest in hills near Lyon.
Yet the attacks continued. On 6 October, a gas bottle exploded in station Maison Blanche of the Paris Métro, wounding 13. On 17 October, a gas bottle exploded between the Musée d'Orsay and Saint-Michel – Notre-Dame stations of RER Line C, wounding 29.
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Wikipedia