Bojinka plot

Bojinka plot
Aftermath of the fatal Philippine Airlines Flight 434 bombing
LocationMakati, Philippines (Phase I)
Airspace (Phase II)
Langley, Virginia, U.S. (Phase III)
DatePlanned to be executed January 15–22, 1995; foiled on January 6–7, 1995
TargetPope John Paul II (Phase I)
American airliners (Phase II)
CIA Headquarters (Phase III)
Attack type
Islamic terrorism, suicide attack, bombing and aircraft hijacking
WeaponsImprovised explosive device
Cessna
Deaths1 (test bomb in Philippine Airlines Flight 434)
Injured10 (test bomb in Philippine Airlines Flight 434)
PerpetratorsAl-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah
MotiveUnited States foreign policy in the Middle East
Anti-Christian sentiment
AccusedKhalid Sheikh Mohammed
ConvictedRamzi Yusuf
Abdul Hakim Murad
Wali Khan Amin Shah
Ramzi Yousef

The Bojinka plot (Arabic: بوجينكا; Tagalog: Proyektong Bojinka) was a large-scale, three-phase terrorist attack planned by Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for January 1995. They planned to assassinate Pope John Paul II; blow up 11 airliners in flight from Asia to the United States, with the goal of killing approximately 4,000 passengers and shutting down air travel around the world; and crash a plane into the headquarters of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia.[1][2]

Despite careful planning, the Bojinka plot was disrupted after a chemical fire drew the attention of the Philippine National Police – Western Police District (PNP-WPD, now known as Manila Police District PNP-MPD) on January 6–7, 1995. Yousef and Mohammed were unable to stage any of the three attacks. The only fatality resulted from a test bomb planted by Yousef on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, which killed one person and injured 10 others. They also planted two other bombs in a shopping mall and theater in the southern Philippines. Elements of the Bojinka plot (including the plan to crash a plane into the CIA headquarters) would be used in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, six years later.

  1. ^ Mazzetti, Mark (November 14, 2009). "Portrait of 9/11 'Jackal' Emerges as He Awaits Trial". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  2. ^ Lumpkin, John J. "Project Bojinka". Global Security. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2010.