Understand the Impact of War, Conflct and Terrorlsm on the Publlc Servlces
Terrorism and Counter Terrorism – P3, M2, D1
Terrorist organisatons
Terrorism is the idea of violence against a civilian populaton to inspire fear for politcal purposes. There are
hundreds of terrorist groups worldwide; some are actve, some have won power, some have been defeated,
and others have ended their violence through peaceful means. Seven of the main regional terrorist groups are
described below, and the fnal three groups are global terrorist groups:
Euskadl ta Askatasuna (ETA): Located in Northern Spain and Southern France, the aims of this terrorist
organisaton were to create an independent Basque naton in Spain and France. Since 1968, it has killed over
820 people (including 340 civilians) and injured thousands more. Their tactcs have included direct atacks,
killing by shootng the victm in the neck and bombing. When the ETA target individuals for assassinaton they
rig their cars with a bomb. Sometmes the bomb is placed inside a stolen car with false plates, parked in the
route of the objectve, and the explosive remotely actvated once the target passes by. They also used shells to
atack military bases, anonymous threats, ofen delivered in the Basque Country by placards or graft,
blackmail, called by ETA a "revolutonary tax", demanding money from people in the Basque Country or
elsewhere in Spain, under threats to them, including death threats, and fnally, kidnapping and robbery.
Kidnapping was ofen used as a punishment for failing to pay the blackmail known as "revolutonary tax", but
also has been used to try to force the government to free ETA's prisoners under the threat of killing the
kidnapped.1
Irlsh Republlcan Army (IRA): Based in Northern Ireland and the UK, the aims of this terrorist organisaton were
to create an Irish Republic free of Britsh infuence. They have been responsible for many terrorist atacks,
including bombing a Brighton hotel where the Conservatve party were having a conference. They were also
responsible for bombings in Manchester and Birmingham. Additonally, they used shootngs and kidnappings
as a method of inspiring fear. They have now renounced violence. Traditonal IRA actvites have included
bombings, assassinatons, kidnappings, punishment beatngs, extorton, smuggling, and robberies.
Khmer Rouge: Located in Cambodia, the main aim of the Khmer Rouge was to overthrow the government of
Cambodia. They were an extreme communist group that had politcal power in the 1970s, and were
responsible for a genocide that killed over 1 million Cambodians. The Khmer Rouge government arrested,
tortured, and eventually executed anyone suspected of belonging to several categories of supposed
"enemies”, including:
Anyone with connectons to the former Cambodian government or with foreign governments
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htps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA((separatst(group)#TTactcs
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