Attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities


The United States maintains numerous embassies and consulates around the world, many of which are in war-torn countries or other dangerous areas.

Diplomatic Security

The Regional Security Office is staffed by Special Agents of the Diplomatic Security Service, and is responsible for all security, protection, and law enforcement operations in the embassy or consulate. The Regional Security Officer is the senior DSS Special Agent in country and is the principal adviser to the Chief of Mission on all security, law-enforcement, and counter-terrorism issues for that country or region. The RSO is responsible for liaising with the host government's security and law enforcement officials. The RSO is supported by a Marine Security Guard Detachment, Assistant Regional Security Officers and local security guards.

Attacks on US diplomatic facilities

DateLocationDetailsType of attackDeaths
18 July 1924Tehran, Sublime State of PersiaAn angry mob of led by members of the Muslim clergy and including many members of the Iranian Army beat Robert W. Imbrie, United States Consul in Tehran, to death. The mob blamed America for poisoning a well.mob1
24 May 1957Taipei, TaiwanMob attack on embassy chancery none
27 January 1958Ankara, TurkeyBombing in embassy compoundnone
5 March 1964Libreville, GabonTwo weeks after a failed coup which the U.S. was mistakenly blamed for, a small bomb detonates outside the embassy compound, damaging a sign and cracking windows bombingnone
30 March 1965Saigon, VietnamViet Cong agents detonated a car-bomb outside the embassy.bombing2 Americans, 19 Vietnamese and one Filipino
31 January 1968Saigon, VietnamAs part of the Tet Offensive, Viet Cong commandos forced their way onto the US Embassy grounds and surrounded the building until US reinforcements arrived.armed assault5 US security
20 attackers
26 September 1971Phnom Penh, CambodiaAttack on embassy softball game1 Marine Security Guard
1 Army master sergeant
1 Young Cambodian girl
1972Manila, PhilippinesAttack by communist group, Marine guard woundednone
19 August 1974Nicosia, CyprusRiot outside embassy; ambassador and assistant shot by snipermob2
14 November 1974Tokyo, JapanSeveral Japanese youth attack the embassy with Molotov cocktails, throwing them from a nearby hotel. Afterwards, five stormed the compound where they were arrested. Seven local guards were injured.armed assaultnone
22 November 1974Fukuoka, JapanThree men wearing red helmets from the Marxist Youth League broke windows and threw an explosive device at the U.S. Consulate. The men then attacked a consulate employee, injuring himarmed assaultnone
4 August 1975Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaJapanese Red Army gunmen raid Embassynone
17 February 1976Caracas, VenezuelaGunmen in a car fire at the U.S. Embassy causing minimal damage.shootingnone
1979Tehran, IranIran hostage crisis
21 November 1979Islamabad, PakistanIslamist riots destroy Embassy mob2 US security
2 Pakistani personnel
2 attackers
2 December 1979Tripoli, LibyaIslamist riots destroy Embassy mobnone
18 April 1983Beirut, LebanonIslamic Jihad car bomb destroys Embassy bombing63
12 December 1983Kuwait City, Kuwaital-Dawa truck bomb outside Embassybombing6
20 September 1984Beirut, LebanonHezbollah car bomb outside embassy bombing24
November 1984Bogota, ColombiaCar bomb outside Embassy planted by drug cartelbombing1
February 1986Lisbon, PortugalPopular Forces of 25 April car bomb outside Embassybombingnone
14 May 1986Jakarta, IndonesiaJapanese Red Army mortar barragebombingnone
9 June 1987Rome, ItalyJapanese Red Army mortar barragebombingnone
17 September 1989Bogota, ColombiaRPG fired on Embassy by unknown assailantbombingnone
27 July 1993Lima, PeruCar bomb outside Embassy planted by Shining Pathbombingnone
13 September 1995Moscow, RussiaRPG fired on Embassy by unknown assailantbombingnone
21 June 1998Beirut, LebanonRPGs fired at Embassy by Hezbollah, an Iran-supported religious organizationbombingnone
7 August 1998Nairobi, Kenyaal-Qaeda simultaneously attacked both Embassies with truck bombs 'bombing213, including 10 US personnel and 2 US security
7 August 1998Dar es Salaam, Tanzaniaal-Qaeda simultaneously attacked both Embassies with truck bombs 'bombing11
22 January 2002Calcutta, IndiaHarkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami gunmen attacked American cultural centre, which included public affairs office of nearby US Consulate 'armed assault5 Indian security
14 June 2002Karachi, Pakistanal-Qaeda truck bomb detonated outside Consulate 'bombing12 Pakistani civilians
12 October 2002Denpasar, IndonesiaConsular Office bombed by Jemaah Islamiyah as part of the Bali bombingsbombingnone
28 February 2003Karachi, PakistanUnknown gunmen attack US Consulate 'armed assault2 Pakistani security
30 June 2004Tashkent, UzbekistanIslamic Movement of Uzbekistan bombs US Embassybombingnone
6 December 2004Jeddah, Saudi Arabiaal-Qaeda gunmen raid diplomatic compoundarmed assault5 Saudi personnel
4 attackers
2 March 2006Karachi, PakistanCar bomb explodes outside Consulate, killing a US diplomat 'bombing1 US personnel
1 Pakistani personnel
1 Pakistani security
1 attacker
12 September 2006Damascus, SyriaGunmen raid US Embassyarmed assault1 Syrian security
3 attackers
12 January 2007Athens, GreeceRPG Fired at Embassy by Revolutionary Strugglebombingnone
18 March 2008Sana'a, YemenMortar rounds missed US Embassy, hitting nearby schoolbombing2 Yemeni civilians
9 July 2008Istanbul, TurkeyArmed attack against Consulate ''armed assault3 Turkish security
3 attackers
17 September 2008Sana'a, YemenA coordinated attack resulted in a 20-minute battle with security 'armed assault6 Yemeni security
5 Yemeni civilians
1 US civilian
6 attackers
30 October 2009Managua, NicaraguaSeveral hundred supporters from the Sandinista National Liberation Front protesting "U.S. interventionism" swarm the embassy compound, attacking personnel and vandalizing property for four hours.mobnone
5 April 2010Peshawar, PakistanAn attack near the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills two consulate security guards and at least six others 'armed assault2 Pakistani personnel
1 Pakistani security
1 Pakistani civilian
4 attackers
28 October 2011Sarajevo, Bosnia & HerzegovinaA gunman, a Wahhabi Islamist, fired on the embassy on 28 October 2011, resulting in one local policeman guarding the embassy being wounded in the arm by the gunman, while the shooter was wounded by a police sniper.armed assaultnone
11 September 2012Cairo, EgyptProtestors scaled the walls of the Consulate and replaced the US flag with an Islamist banner before being driven back by Egyptian security 'mobnone
11 September 2012Benghazi, LibyaA group of terrorists storm the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya—killing the U.S. Ambassador, one staff member, and two security contractors 'armed assault4 US personnel
14 September 2012Sana'a, YemenProtestors stormed the US Embassy and set fire to several vehicles before being driven back by Yemeni security 'mob5 attackers
14 September 2012Tunis, TunisiaTunisian police fought back protestors who attacked the US Embassy in Tunis 'mob2 attackers
1 February 2013Ankara, TurkeyA suicide bomber attacked the US Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Friday, detonating himself inside a security entrance to the compound 'bombing1 Turkish security
1 attacker
13 September 2013Herat, AfghanistanA group of 7 Taliban militants attacked the US Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan using truck bombs, assault rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades, killing 2 Afghan security guards and wounding 20 others 'armed assault2 Afghan security
28 September 2015Tashkent, UzbekistanUnidentified man threw two Molotov cocktails or similar improvised explosives over the wall of the US Embassy Tashkentbombingnone
21 February 2018Podgorica, MontenegroA pro-Russian and Serbian-born assailant threw a hand grenade over the wall of the US Embassy in Podgorica. Reporting indicated the grenade appeared to detonate as it was thrown into the air, and the man detonated a second device that killed him. The man's body was found 100 feet from the embassy's wall.bombing1 attacker
26 July 2018Beijing, ChinaUnidentified 26-year-old Chinese man set off explosive device outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.bombingnone
1 December 2018Guadalajara, MexicoUnidentified assailant threw a grenade at the U.S. consulate.bombingnone
31 December 2019Baghdad, Iraq2019 attack on the United States embassy in Iraqmob