Sunday, August 08, 2010

Data on Kidnappings from the State Department

Updated links and information on March 4, 2012

Continuing to try and find as much information as possible for the status table of Americans Missing in Iraq.


Current bedside reading are the annual Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism. The National Counterterrorism Center typically provides statistical data for the annual reports. It appears that the earliest publicly available data set published on kidnappings of U.S. citizens is 2005.

Bookmarking this index for future reference:
U.S. Department of State
Country Reports on Terrorism
The most recent Country Reports on Terrorism for 2010 from the Department of State was issued on August 18. There were no reported kidnappings in 2010 - which is surprising because defense contractor Issa T. Salomi was kidnapped on January 23, 2010 and then later released.

Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private U.S. Citizens, 2010
Country Reports on Terrorism 2010
US Department of State
August 18, 2011
TERRORISM KIDNAPPINGS OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2009



Country Reports on Terrorism 2009
US Department of State
August 5, 2010

CountryDate of KidnappingNumberLocation / Date Released or Rescued
ColumbiaFebruary 6, 20091Cali, Colombia – April 2009
ColumbiaMay 25, 20091Bogota, Colombia - May 28, 2009
KenyaJuly 17, 20091Luuq, Somalia – October 3, 2009
PakistanFebruary 2, 20091Quetta, Pakistan – April 4, 2009


TERRORISM KIDNAPPINGS OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2008

So far, I have been unable to locate the US State data for 2008. It's listed in the 2008 Index as being in Chapter 7 of the report, but it's just not there.

The annual NCTC report, The 2008 Report on Terrorism of April 30, 2009, contains a pie chart, Chart 14 - US Citizen Terrorism Kidnappings by Country on page 32. It cites 4 kidnappings in Afghanistan and 1 in Panama. No mention of Iraq.

However, one news report about the abduction of Issa T. Salomi in early 2010 cited a previous kidnapping of an American citizen in the summer of 2008. See Officials confirm kidnapping of U.S. contractor in Iraq By Ernesto LondoƱo and Leila Fadel, Washington Post, February 6, 2010.
TERRORISM KIDNAPPINGS OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2007

Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private U.S. Citizens
Country Reports on Terrorism 2007

US Department of State
CountryDate of Incident NumberLocation
AfghanistanSeptember 221Kabul
Before November 71Kabul
ChadOctober 11Bardai
IraqJanuary 51Al-Haritha
January 272Sulaymaniyah
February 11Baghdad
March 31Baghdad
April 25 (approx)1Kuwait-Iraq border
May 251Kuwait-Iraq border
August 171Al Amarah
NigeriaJanuary 71Okan Oil Field, Delta State
May 11Okan Oil Field, Delta State
May 94Okan Oil Field, Delta State
TERRORISM KIDNAPPINGS OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2006

Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private U.S. Citizens
Country Reports on Terrorism 2006

US Department of State

CountryDate of DeathNumberLocation
AfghanistanMarch 30, 2006*
1
Near Gresham, Afghanistan
IraqMarch 30, 2006*
1
Baghdad, Iraq
July 9, 2006*
1
Baghdad, Iraq
August 5, 2006*
1
Baghdad, Iraq
November 16, 2006
4
Aswan, Iraq
Israel, Gaza, and the West BankJune 10, 2006*
1
Nobles, the West Bank
August 27, 2006*
1
Gaza City, Gaza
NigeriaJanuary 30, 2006*
1
Offshore the Niger Delta, Nigeria
August 23, 2006*
1
Port Harcourt, Nigeria

*Date rescued/released.

TERRORISM KIDNAPPINGS OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2005
Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private U.S. Citizens
Country Reports on Terrorism 2005

US Department of State
CountryDate of IncidentNumberLocation
IraqJanuary 12*1Unknown
IraqApril 111Taji
IraqMay 171Unknown
IraqMay 22*1Unknown
IraqAugust 10*1Unknown
IraqSeptember 7*1Mansour
IraqSeptember 271Unknown
IraqNovember 291Baghdad
IraqDecember 21Unknown
IraqDecember 51Baghdad
Israel, Gaza, and the West BankOctober 12*1Khan Younis [Gaza]
*Date rescued/released

Tables used as is from the Department of State.

Statistical information within the report comes from the Worldwide Incidents Tracking System (WITS) of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). WITS is searchable and open to the public.

NCTC issues an annual report. The report "contains details about incidents of violence against civilians and non-combatants (including military personnel and assets outside of war-like settings) from publicly available information."
WITS maintains a detailed database of incidents. Methodology and definitions are explained in its most recent report from April. In fact, the report is worth reading just for its detailed description of just what they consider to be an act of terrorism.
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Report on Terrorism
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
National Counterterrorism Center, Washington, DC
April 30, 2010
A fascinating side note is that the Department of Defense has a very different definition of terrorism, one that apparently is not universally accepted outside of the DOD.

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