1996 Paris RER bombing

On 3 December 1996 an IED detonated on the southbound tracks of the Port-Royal Réseau Express Régional (RER) station in Paris, France. Four people were killed in the bombing:[1][2][3][4] two French citizens, a Moroccan and a Canadian.[5]

1996 Paris RER bombing
A memorial to the victims (2014)
LocationPort-Royal station in Paris, France
Coordinates48°50′23.55″N 2°20′13.34″E / 48.8398750°N 2.3370389°E / 48.8398750; 2.3370389
Date3 December 1996; 27 years ago (1996-12-03)
TargetRER passengers
Attack type
Bombing
WeaponsImprovised explosive device
Deaths4
Injured91
PerpetratorsUnknown, GIA suspected

Following the bombing, French officials activated the "Vigipirate" nationwide security plan drawn up a year earlier in the wake of a series of bombings by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA). The plan included police and army patrols in sensitive public areas and spot checks across the country.[6][7]

Jean-Louis Bruguière and Jean-François Ricard were in charge of the bombing file.[8] No group took responsibility for the attack, but the GIA was suspected of being behind the attack.[9] However, unlike this bombing, the group had claimed all the bombings in the campaign.[10]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Subway Bomb In Paris Kills Two". Lodi News-Sentinel. AP. 3 December 1996.
  2. ^ Dahlburg, John-Thor (4 December 1996). "Bomb Planted on Paris Train Kills 2, Hurts 85". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. ^ Paris attack France's deadliest in decades
  4. ^ Whitney, Craig (4 December 1996). "2 Die as Terrorist Bomb Rips Train at a Paris Station". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ^ Charles P. Nemeth (23 March 2011). Homeland Security: An Introduction to Principles and Practice. CRC Press. p. 457. ISBN 978-1-4200-8568-6.
  6. ^ "French officials say bomb caused deadly train blast- Dec. 3, 1996". CNN.com. 1996-12-03. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  7. ^ "Terror has returned to the streets of France". 15 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Jean-François Ricard à la tête du Parquet national antiterroriste". justice.gouv.fr. 4 July 2019.
  9. ^ Marc Sageman (October 2010). Confronting Al-Qaeda: Understanding the Threat in Afghanistan and Beyond: Congressional Testimony. DIANE Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4379-2774-0.
  10. ^ Whitney, Craig R. (1996-12-04). "2 Die as Terrorist Bomb Rips Train at a Paris Station". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-13.

48°50′24″N 2°20′13″E / 48.8399°N 2.3370°E / 48.8399; 2.3370