Patterns of Global Terrorism 1996 - France

The most devastating terrorist attack in France during 1996 was a bombing on a Paris commuter train during rush hour on 3 December that killed four persons and injured more than 80, some of them seriously. The bomb, a gas canister filled with explosives and nails, was designed and timed to cause extensive casualties. Although no one claimed responsibility for the incident, similarities between this attack and several bombings tied to the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in 1995 lead authorities to suspect that Algerian extremists were responsible.

Several assassinations took place in France during 1996. An Iranian who served as Deputy Education Minister under the Shah was shot to death at his apartment near Paris on 28 May. The victim, Reza Mazlouman, had political refugee status in France and reportedly was active in opposition movements against the Iranian regime. At France's request, German authorities arrested an Iranian national in Bonn two days later on suspicion of participating in the assassination; the Iranian was extradited to France in October. A second assailant escaped and is believed to be in Iran. On 5 August unidentified assailants brutally murdered Jaffar Hasso Guly, the local chief representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and a delegate of the "Iraqi Kurdish Autonomous Government," in his home in Paris. Local Kurd leaders blamed Iraqi or Iranian state agents for the crime.

Suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) gunmen shot and killed Kandiah Perinbanathan, the LTTE's international treasurer, and a companion in Paris on 26 October. Sri Lankan authorities said the treasurer may have been killed for extorting funds from his assailants.

French authorities worked vigorously against the separatist Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) group in 1996, arresting at least three dozen members and sympathizers – some of whom were later released – and uncovering several weapons caches. In a key arrest in November, French customs authorities nabbed Juan "Isuntza" Aguirre Lete as he tried to run a checkpoint set up at a tollbooth. Madrid has accused Isuntza of masterminding a plot to assassinate King Juan Carlos in Majorca in 1995. Joint French-Spanish operations in July and November resulted in the capture in France of several ETA members and supporters, including Daniel Derguy, believed to be ETA's chief French operative; Julian "Pototo" Achurra Egurola, the head of the group's logistics wing; and Juan "Karpov" Maria Insausti, who Spanish authorities say is ETA's chief recruiter and explosives trainer. French officials also arrested Maria Nagore Mugica, one of Spain's most wanted criminals, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in May. Nagore belonged to various ETA command cells – including the group's chief cell in Madrid – between 1990 and 1993 and is suspected of involvement in several bombings. A French court authorized her extradition to Spain in December.

Antiterrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere announced in September the completion of his investigation into the 1989 bombing of UTA Flight 772 over Niger. Arrest warrants – including two issued in 1996 – are outstanding for a total of six Libyan Government officials, including a brother-in-law of Libyan leader Mu'ammar Qadhafi, for their alleged participation in the bombing. Bruguiere traveled to Libya in July to interview numerous secret service officials. Tripoli allowed him to return to France with a replica of the boobytrapped suitcase used in the bombing, as well as timers and detonators believed similar to those used to set off the explosives.