Read Just 2 Seconds Online

Authors: Gavin de Becker,Thomas A. Taylor,Jeff Marquart

Just 2 Seconds (43 page)

417.
Date: June 10, 2005
Target: Lawmaker Jyrgalbek Surabaldiyev
Location: Bishkek, Kyrgyz
Details: Surabaldiyev was shot and killed by two unidentified assailants, as he was getting into his car in a central square where Parliament and several government agencies are located. His driver was wounded.

418.
Date: June 28, 2005
Target: National Assembly legislator Sheik Dhari Ali al-Fayadh
Location: Iraq
Details: Al-Fayadh, his son, and two bodyguards were killed when a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into theirs as they traveled to Parliament from their farm in Rashidiya, 20 miles northeast of Baghdad.

419.
Date: July 5, 2005
Target: Diplomat Hassan Malallah al-Ansari
Location: Iraq
Details: Bahrain's highest-ranking diplomat in Iraq was shot and slightly injured when gunmen attacked his vehicle in a Baghdad neighborhood where several embassies are located. The attack came three days after the kidnapping of Egypt's top diplomat in Iraq. Four gunmen in a pickup truck shot at al-Ansari as he drove to work in the upscale Mansour district. One bullet hit al-Ansari's right arm before the gunmen sped away. He was treated at a hospital and later released.

420.
Date: July 12, 2005
Target: Defense Minister Elias Murr
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Details: A car bomb blasted Murr's motorcade, wounding him and 12 others, and killing one person. The assassination attempt was the latest in a string of bombings that killed or wounded politicians and other prominent figures in Lebanon. Murr was driving his own car in his motorcade through the northern Naqash district -- a neighborhood of embassies and diplomatic residences -- when a vehicle packed with up to 132 pounds of explosives detonated next to it. The blast destroyed one vehicle in the motorcade and damaged several others. The attack vehicle was hurled over a stone wall into a nearby villa. Murr reportedly managed to climb out a broken window and staggered out of his damaged vehicle, bloodied. One of the wounded was the wife of the Mexican ambassador in a nearby residence. Murr later stated, "I looked at my bodyguard who was also unconscious." Murr also said he tried pulling some of his men from their car, but the doors were locked.

421.
Date: August 12, 2005
Target: Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Details: Kadirgamar was shot in the head and died after being taken to National Hospital for emergency surgery. He had just returned from a swim and was entering his home when he was shot. There were reportedly two snipers hiding in buildings near Kadirgamar's home in the capital's diplomatic district. The previous week police had arrested two Tamil men who were taking video of the area.

422.
Date: August 16, 2005
Target: Brother Roger Schutz (French Ecumenical Christian Leader)
Location: Burgundy, France
Details: A Romanian woman slipped into a choir of singing monks during an evening prayer service and fatally slit the throat of the founder of an ecumenical Christian community. Brother Roger was stabbed at least twice in the neck. Bleeding profusely, he was carried out and died 15 minutes later in the community house. The attack occurred about 8:45 p.m., some five minutes after the service got started. Some 2,500 people -- most of them young people -- were worshipping in the church when the woman surged toward Brother Roger. The mentally ill intruder, identified as Luminita Solcan, had visited the area for a week in June. She had once been asked to leave, but returned on the day of the attack and bypassed the reception area. On the night of the attack, she jumped a small hedge separating the choir from the congregation to join the monks. Many thought she might be the mother of one of the children. The attacker offered no resistance when she was grabbed. Prosecutors reported that the assailant had bought the knife the day before with the intention of killing Brother Roger. She had reportedly tried for several months to contact Brother Roger and told investigators she was trying to get his attention.

423.
Date: August 25, 2005
Target: Prime Minister Ibrahim Malsagov
Location: Nazran, Chechnya
Details: As he was driving to his office after lunch, a bomb attack on Malsagov's motorcade caused a serious leg injury to Malsagov and killed his bodyguard. The bomb exploded after Malsagov's three-car motorcade had come to an abrupt halt because of a smaller explosion in front of the lead vehicle. This was the second major attack in the city that week.

424.
Date: October 18, 2005
Target: Judge Biplab Goshwamy
Location: Sylhet, Bangladesh
Details: Goshwamy was getting out of his car in front of his house when a nearby bomb exploded. People chased and caught the bomber, who had with him another live bomb.

425.
Date: October 18, 2005
Target: Education Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone
Location: Srinagar, India
Details: Two militants hurled a grenade at paramilitary soldiers guarding a residential compound where lawmakers and ministers live. The militants then entered the complex, killing one paramilitary soldier and injuring four others before barging into the home of a lawmaker and firing indiscriminately. The lawmaker, Yusuf Tarigami, escaped unhurt, but a security guard was killed. The militants then scaled a wall to enter Lone's house next door and resumed firing, hitting Lone and injuring at least four other people at the minister's house. Lone died
en route
to a hospital. Soldiers killed one of the attackers at Lone's house. A standoff with the surviving rebel lasted nearly three hours before he escaped.

426.
Date: October 20, 2005
Target: Deputy Police Chief Nafus Khan
Location: Zaranj, Afghanistan
Details: Khan's car was being parked next to a mosque when a nearby car bomb exploded, killing him and one bodyguard. Another bodyguard was injured.

427.
Date: October 26, 2005
Target: DZI Bank Owner Emil Kyulev
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Details: Kyulev, head of Bulgaria's largest financial group, was on his way to a meeting with deputy Sofia mayor Velizar Stoilov when ten bullets riddled his BMW car, killing him and wounding his driver. Kyulev received multiple injuries in the head and chest and died instantly. His driver was taken to the hospital and survived. Investigators said the killers had repeatedly rehearsed the ambush against Kyulev.

428.
Date: April 6, 2006
Target: Congressman Mario Pivaral
Location: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Details: Pivaral was shot and killed by two men on a motorcycle as he stepped out of the National Union of Hope's offices to answer a cell phone call. The killers had followed him there when he left the Congress building and were lying in wait for him to exit the office building. He had reportedly been threatened and followed for days prior to the attack. Pivaral was the second congressman to be assassinated during the current legislature.

429.
Date: April 17, 2006
Target: Politician Ali Mohammad Naik
Location: Tral, India
Details: Suspected separatist rebels opened fire on Naik's motorcade. He was seriously wounded along with two of his bodyguards, and another bodyguard was killed. Naik was taken to a Srinagar hospital, where doctors immediately began operating on him. Naik's jaw was reportedly shattered and that he had deep wounds in his neck. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

430.
Date: April 22, 2006
Target: Agriculture Minister Satyadeo Sawh
Location: Guyana
Details: About seven gunmen armed with rifles burst into Sawh's home and reportedly demanded jewelry and money. After giving them $120.00, the gunmen shot and killed Sawh, along with his sister, his brother, and a security guard. Another brother was hospitalized with a gunshot wound and a neighbor's security guard was also wounded. While robbery was a possible motive, authorities believed the killing was an assassination. Police reportedly stepped up security for Cabinet ministers and other high-profile figures.

431.
Date: May 20, 2006
Target: Intelligence Chief Tareq Abu Rajab
Location: Gaza City, Gaza Strip
Details: A bomb exploded in an elevator shaft at Palestinian intelligence headquarters, seriously wounding Rajab. A bodyguard was killed and ten other people were hurt. The blast went off before noon at the heavily guarded four-story intelligence headquarters. Rajab and six aides and bodyguards were in an elevator when the blast went off. A spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry suggested one of Rajab's bodyguards inadvertently dropped a hand grenade, but the intelligence service dismissed the notion. An al-Qaeda group later claimed credit. When the wounded were driven to a nearby hospital, security men fired into the air from the vehicles to clear the way. Several members of a new Hamas militia fired toward the vehicles, likely believing they were coming under attack.

432.
Date: September 5, 2006
Target: Senior Intelligence Official Lt. Col. Samir Shehade
Location: Rmaile, Lebanon
Details: A remote-controlled roadside bomb loaded with nails exploded as Shehade's two-car convoy drove past. Two bodyguards and two aides were killed. Shehade and five additional bodyguards and aides were wounded. The bomb reportedly targeted the car normally driven by Shehade, but he was traveling in the other vehicle at the time. His convoy was riddled with shrapnel and TV footage showed at least one bloodied man slumped on his seat in one of the cars. Shehade had played a key role in investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Shehade had received death threats because of his work in the Hariri probe.
(2-STARS: Protective Strategies or Resources at the scene favorably influenced safety/survival.)

433.
Date: September 10, 2006
Target: Governor Abdul Hakim Taniwal
Location: Gardez, Afghanistan
Details: A suicide bomber killed Taniwal as he was leaving his office. Taniwal's bodyguard and his nephew were also killed when the suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body while standing next to the governor's car. The blast also wounded three police officers.

434.
Date: September 13, 2006
Target: Bank Executive Andrei Kozlov
Location: Moscow, Russia
Details: Gunmen armed with silenced handguns shot Kozlov's unarmed driver in the head, killing him. They apparently mistook the driver for Kozlov. Seconds later, Kozlov emerged from sports complex where he had just finished playing soccer with a group of his colleagues. The gunmen opened fire again, shooting him in the chest. Kozlov tried to run away, but collapsed and was shot again in the head. He died five hours later, following surgery. Due to his position, Kozlov was entitled to bodyguards and an armored vehicle, but he refused both, wanting to "lead a normal life." Only five days before his death, Kozlov had called for anybody found guilty of money laundering to be banned from the banking industry for life.

435.
Date: October 19, 2006
Target: Mayoral Candidate Dmitry Fotyanov
Location: Dalnergorsk, Russia
Details: Fotyanov was ending a meeting with supporters when he was killed by a sniper armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, firing from a vehicle parked nearby. Police officials said the rifle was equipped with a silencer. He was three days away from a runoff election in which he needed fewer than 400 votes to become the mayor.

436.
Date: November 21, 2006
Target: Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Details: Gemayel was reportedly leaving a church when a car stopped suddenly and his car struck it. A car behind his then struck Geymayel's car. Three gunmen with silenced automatic weapons jumped from the first car and opened fire. Geymayel and a bodyguard sitting in front were killed. Another bodyguard in the back of the car and a civilian on the street were wounded. Twenty-four bullet casings were reportedly recovered at the scene. Gemayel was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.

 

 

Section 1C: Unsuccessful Attacks within the United States

It is the goal and desire of every bodyguard to avoid or defeat an attempted attack on the protectee. However, it is simply impossible to check every window along a parade route or eliminate every risk. Time constraints, changes in the protectee's plans or schedule, and lack of sufficient resources always force the bodyguard to take calculated risks, addressing the most likely hazards. Even then there are no guarantees.

In most of the following cases, an attack was launched in close proximity to the protectee and yet the protectee was unscathed. Effective protective action and strategies prevailed in many of the following lethal approaches. In others, the protectee escaped unharmed by nothing more than luck.

437.
Date: March 1, 1971
Target: Members of Congress
Location: Washington, D.C.
Details: An explosion caused extensive damage to seven rooms in the original Senate wing of the Capitol Building. There were no injuries and the responsible party was never found.

438.
Date: September 5, 1975
Target: President Gerald Ford
Location: Sacramento, California
Details: Ford was walking through a park from his hotel to the state capitol building, during an official visit. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme stood among a large group of well-wishers along the route. As Ford neared her, she pulled a Colt .45 pistol out and aimed it at Ford. Secret Service Agent Larry Buendorf grabbed the gun and disarmed her, while other agents surrounded the president and rushed him into the capitol building.
(4-STARS: Protector action during the attack entirely prevented injury.)

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