List of hostage crises

This is a list of notable hostage crises by date.

Incident Location(s) Start Duration Number of
hostages
Gaza war hostage crisis Gaza envelope, Israel 7 October 2023 843 days 250+[1]
Nduga hostage crisis Nduga Regency, Highland Papua, Indonesia 7 February 2023 592 days 9+[2]
Leidseplein hostage crisis Leidseplein, Amsterdam, Netherlands 22 February 2022 5 hours 1[3]
Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis Colleyville, Texas, United States 15 January 2022 10 hours, 41 minutes 4[4]
2020 Lutsk hostage crisis Lutsk, Volyn Oblast, Ukraine 21 July 2020 12 hours, 21 minutes 13[5]
2020 Greenhills hostage crisis San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines 2 March 2020 9 hours 55[6]
Carcassonne and Trèbes attack Trèbes, Aude, France 23 March 2018 3 hours, 40 minutes 2[7]
Siege of Marawi Marawi, Lanao del Sur, Philippines 23 May 2017 5 months 1,770+
2017 Hanoi hostage crisis Hanoi, Vietnam 15 April 2017 10 days 38
2016 Yerevan hostage crisis Yerevan, Armenia 17 July 2016 15 days 9
July 2016 Dhaka attack Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh 1 July 2016 11 hours, 10 minutes 35+[8]
Orlando nightclub shooting Orlando, Florida, United States 12 June 2016 3 hours, 12 minutes 320
Kunduz-Takhar highway hostage crisis Kunduz Province, Afghanistan 31 May 2016 Unclear end date 220+
2015 Bamako hotel attack Bamako, Mali 20 November 2015 9 hours 170
November 2015 Paris attacks Paris, France 13 November 2015 2 hours, 20 minutes 20[9]
Samal Island hostage crisis Samal, Davao del Norte, Philippines 22 September 2015 13 months 4[10]
Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege Porte de Vincennes, Paris, France 9 January 2015 4 hours 30 minutes 19
2014 Peshawar school massacre Army Public School Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan 15 December 2014 7 hours 1,099
Lindt Cafe siege Martin Place, Sydney, Australia Approximately 17 hours 18[11]
2014 Stockton bank robbery Stockton, California and Lodi, California, United States 16 July 2014 Approximately 1 hour 3
2014 Moscow school shooting Moscow, Russia 3 February 2014 Approximately 2 hours 29
Westgate shopping mall attack Nairobi, Kenya 21 September 2013 3 days
Zamboanga City crisis Zamboanga City, Philippines 9 September 2013 19 days
2013 Islamabad hostage crisis Islamabad, Pakistan 15 August 2013 6 hours
2013 Hialeah shooting Hialeah, Florida 26 July 2013 Approximately 3 hours
2013 Alabama bunker hostage crisis Midland City, Alabama 29 January 2013 6 days
In Amenas hostage crisis In Amenas, Algeria 16 January 2013 3 days
2012 Bain murder-kidnappings Whiteville, Tennessee and Alpine, Mississippi, United States 27 April 2012 13 days
2011 Muar kindergarten hostage crisis Muar, Johor, Malaysia 7 July 2011 6 hours 30
2011 Hectorville siege Hectorville, South Australia, Australia 29 April 2011 8 hours
Panama City school board shootings Panama City, Florida, United States 14 December 2010 Unknown
2010 Baghdad church massacre Baghdad, Iraq 31 October 2010 About 4 hours
2010 Discovery headquarters hostage crisis Silver Spring, Maryland, United States 1 September 2010 About 5 hours
Manila hostage crisis Manila, Philippines 23 August 2010 10 hours 30 mins
2010 Ahmadiyya mosques massacre Lahore, Pakistan 28 May 2010 Some hours
October 2009 Lahore attacks 15 October 2009 1 hour 30 mins
2009 Pakistan Army General Headquarters attack Rawalpindi, Pakistan 10 October 2009 1 day
2009 Yemen hostage crisis Saada Governorate, Yemen 12 June 2009 11 months 9[12][13]
Binghamton shooting Binghamton, New York, United States 3 April 2009 1 day
2009 Lahore police academy attack Lahore, Pakistan 30 March 2009 Some hours
Bangladesh Rifles revolt Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh 25 February 2009 2 days
2008 Mumbai attacks Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 26 November 2008 3 days
Eloá Pimentel hostage crisis Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil 13 October 2008 4 days
Espírito Santo Bank of Campolide robbery Lisbon, Portugal 7 August 2008 8 hours
South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan Ghazni Province, Afghanistan 19 July 2007 42 days
Siege of Lal Masjid Islamabad, Pakistan 3 July 2007 9 days
Johnson Space Center shooting Houston, Texas, United States 20 April 2007 About 3 hours
West Nickel Mines School shooting Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States 2 October 2006 Some hours
Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis Bailey, Colorado, United States 27 September 2006 About 4 hours
Seattle Jewish Federation shooting Seattle, Washington, United States 28 July 2006 Approximately 15 minutes
Chrobog family kidnapping Yemen 28 December 2005 3 days
2005 raid on Nalchik Nalchik, Russia 13 October 2005 Some hours
Ennepetal hostage taking Ennepetal, Germany 12 April 2005 About 6 hours
Beslan school siege Beslan, Russia 1 September 2004 3 days
2004 Khobar massacre Khobar, Saudi Arabia 29 May 2004 25 hours
2003 Sahara hostage crisis Algeria 22 January 2003 208 days
Moscow theater hostage crisis Moscow, Russia 23 October 2002 2½ days
Akshardham Temple attack Gandhinagar, India 24 September 2002 2 days
Dos Palmas kidnappings Palawan, Philippines 27 May 2001 Varied periods
Operation Barras Sierra Leone 10 October 2000 17 days
Bus 174 hostage crisis Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 12 June 2000 Some hours
Sauk Siege Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia 5 June 2000 3 days
Wasserbillig crèche hostage crisis Wasserbillig, Luxembourg 31 May 2000 28 hours 52 [14]
2000 Fijian coup d'état Suva, Fiji 19 May 2000 56 days
Nishi-Tetsu bus hijacking Fukuoka, Yamaguchi, and Hiroshima Prefectures, Japan 3–4 May 2000 15 hours 21
2000 Sipadan kidnappings Sipadan, Malaysia, Jolo, Philippines 23 April 2000 Varied periods
Joseph Palczynski standoff Dundalk, Maryland, United States 17 March 2000 4 days
Indian Airlines Flight 814 Amritsar, India, Dubai, UAE, Lahore, Pakistan, Kandahar, Afghanistan 24 December 1999 8 days 190
1998 Cúa hostage crisis Cúa, Venezuela 5 April 1998 7 hours
Japanese embassy hostage crisis Lima, Peru 17 December 1996 126 days
Terrazas del Ávila hostage crisis Caracas, Venezuela 15 April 1996 20 hours
1996 Honolulu hostage crisis Honolulu, Hawaii, United States 6 February 1996 7 hours
Black Sea hostage crisis Trabzon, Turkey, Sochi, Russia 16 January 1996 4 days
Kizlyar–Pervomayskoye hostage crisis Kizlyar and Pervomayskoye, Russia 9 January 1996 9 days
Cologne hostage crisis Cologne, Germany 28 July 1995 7 hours 24[15]
1995 kidnapping of western tourists in Kashmir Pahalgam, India 4 July 1995 Unknown
San Román Tragedy Caracas, Venezuela 23 June 1995 6 hours
Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis Budyonnovsk, Russia 14 June 1995 5 days
1995 Salvadoran legislature hostage crisis San Salvador, El Salvador 24 January 1995 2 days ~2,500
Air France Flight 8969 Algiers, Algeria, Marseille, France 24 December 1994 3 days 232
1994 kidnappings of western tourists in India New Delhi, India 20 October 1994 12 days 4
1994 Salvadoran legislature hostage crisis San Salvador, El Salvador 26 September 1994 2 days ~200
Torp hostage crisis Larvik and Sandefjord, Norway 28 August 1994 2 days
Gresham cat hostage taking incident Gresham, Oregon, United States 21 August 1994 Unknown 1 cat
Salt Lake City Public Library hostage incident Salt Lake City, Utah, United States 7 March 1994 6 hours
1993 Jolimont Centre siege Canberra, Australia 29 November 1993 2 hours
Neuilly kindergarten hostage crisis Neuilly-sur-Seine, France 13 May 1993 2 days 22
Supreme Court of Justice hostage crisis San José, Costa Rica 26 April 1993 4 days
1993 Cangai siege Cangai, New South Wales, Australia 30 March 1993 26 hours
East Carter High School shooting Grayson, Kentucky, United States 18 January 1993 16 minutes
Lindhurst High School shooting Olivehurst, California, United States 1 May 1992 8 hours
Alta View Hospital hostage incident Sandy, Utah, United States 20 September 1991 18 hours
1991 Sacramento hostage crisis Sacramento, California, United States 4 April 1991 About 8 hours 41[16]
Singapore Airlines Flight 117 Singapore 26 March 1991 12 hours 125
Henry's Pub hostage incident Berkeley, California, United States 28 September 1990 7 hours 33
1990 Hotel Delfino siege Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Philippines 4 March 1990 Unknown
1989 Davao hostage crisis Davao City, Philippines 13 August 1989 3 days
Camp Cawa-Cawa siege Zamboanga City, Philippines 5 January 1989 12 hours
Loveland River House incident Loveland, Colorado, United States 3 January 1989 2 hours
Papal visit hostage crisis Maseru, Lesotho 13 September 1988 1 day
Gladbeck hostage crisis Gladbeck, Bremen, Sottrum, and Cologne, West Germany, Oldenzaal, Netherlands 16 August 1988 3 days 29[17]
Ouvéa cave hostage taking Ouvéa, New Caledonia 22 April 1988 14 days
Kuwait Airways Flight 422 Mashhad, Iran, Larnaca, Cyprus, Algiers, Algeria 5 April 1988 15 days 110
Pudu prison siege Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 17 October 1986 6 days
Pan Am Flight 73 Karachi, Pakistan 5 September 1986 1 day 379
Mikkeli hostage crisis Helsinki and Mikkeli, Finland 8 August 1986 14 hours 10 mins
Oulu plane hijacking 1986 Oulu, Finland 20 May 1986 2 hours 45 mins
Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis Cokeville, Wyoming, United States 16 May 1986 2½ hours
EgyptAir Flight 648 Luqa, Malta 23 November 1985 2 days 98
Palace of Justice siege Bogotá, Colombia 6 November 1985
Achille Lauro hijacking Alexandria and Port Said, Egypt 7 October 1985 2 days 97+
Trans World Airlines Flight 847 Beirut, Lebanon, Algiers, Algeria 14 June 1985 16 days 155
Bus 300 affair Tel Aviv and Ashkelon, Israel 12 April 1984 2 days
1984 Libyan hostage incident Tripoli, Libya 17 April 1984 9 months
1984 Sydney bank robbery Sydney, Australia 31 January 1984 6 hours
Abduction of western tourists in Matabeleland Lupane, Zimbabwe 23 July 1982 Unknown
Lebanon hostage crisis Beirut, Lebanon 19 July 1982 Varied periods
Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 Bangkok, Thailand 28 March 1981 3 days 53
Iranian Embassy siege London, United Kingdom 30 April 1980 6 days
Dominican embassy siege Bogotá, Colombia 27 February 1980 61 days
Grand Mosque seizure Mecca, Saudi Arabia 20 November 1979 14 days 50,000+
Iran hostage crisis Tehran, Iran 4 November 1979 444 days 53
Mitsubishi Bank hostage incident Osaka, Japan 26 January 1979 2 days
Finnair Flight 405 Helsinki, Finland 30 September 1978 19 hours
1978 Assen province hall hostage crisis Assen, Netherlands 13 March 1978 1 day 71[18]
Cyprus Airways hijacking Larnaca, Cyprus 19 February 1978
Lufthansa Flight 181 Larnaca, Cyprus, Dubai, UAE, Aden, South Yemen, Mogadishu, Somalia 13 October 1977 5 days
Japan Air Lines Flight 472 Dhaka, Bangladesh, Kuwait City, Kuwait, Damascus, Syria 28 September 1977
1977 De Punt train hijacking De Punt, Netherlands 23 May 1977 20 days 54[19]
1977 Bovensmilde school hostage crisis Bovensmilde, Netherlands 4 days 110[20]
1977 Hanafi siege Washington, D.C., United States 9 March 1977 39 hours
TWA Flight 355 Montreal and Gander, Canada, Keflavík, Iceland, Paris, France 10 September 1976 2 days
Operation Entebbe Benghazi, Libya, Entebbe, Uganda 27 June 1976 8 days 258
Balcombe Street siege London, United Kingdom 6 December 1975 5 days
OPEC siege Vienna, Austria, Algiers, Algeria, Tripoli, Libya 21 December 1975 3 days
1975 Indonesian consulate hostage crisis Amsterdam, Netherlands 4 December 1975 15 days 42[21]
Wijster kidnapping Wijster, Netherlands 2 December 1975 12 days 75[22]
Philippine Airlines Flight 111 Manila, Philippines 6 October 1975 1 hour
Spaghetti House siege London, United Kingdom 28 September 1975 6 days 6[23]
1975 AIA building hostage crisis Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 5 August 1975 5 days
Israeli consulate hostage crisis[24] Johannesburg, South Africa 29 April 1975 19 hours
West German Embassy siege in Stockholm Stockholm, Sweden 24 April 1975 12 hours
1974 French Embassy attack in The Hague The Hague, Netherlands 13 September 1974 4 days 11[25]
1974 Huntsville Prison siege Huntsville, Texas, United States 24 July 1974 11 days
Ma'alot massacre Ma'alot, Israel 15 May 1974 2 days
Claustre Affair Bardaï, Chad 20 April 1974 1018 days 4[26][27]
Laju incident Singapore 31 January 1974 8 days
Norrmalmstorg robbery Stockholm, Sweden 23 August 1973 5 days
Roman Catholic mission hostage crisis Centenary, Rhodesia 5 July 1973 Unknown
1973 CIBC bank robbery Kenora, Ontario, Canada 10 May 1973
Attack on the Saudi Embassy in Khartoum Khartoum, Sudan 1 March 1973 2½ days
1973 Brooklyn hostage crisis New York City, New York, United States 19 January 1973 3 days
Balassagyarmat hostage crisis Balassagyarmat, Hungary 7 January 1973 6 days
Lufthansa Flight 615 Zagreb, Yugoslavia 29 October 1972 15 hours
Munich massacre Munich, West Germany 5 September 1972 21 hours
Lod Airport massacre Lod, Israel 30 May 1972 24 minutes
Sabena Flight 572 8 May 1972 1 day
Lufthansa Flight 649 Aden, South Yemen 22 February 1972 2 days
Asama-Sansō incident Karuizawa, Japan 19 February 1972 9 days
Northwest Orient Flight 305 Washington and Oregon, United States 24 November 1971 4 hours
October Crisis Quebec, Canada 5 October 1970 60 days
Dawson's Field hijackings Zarka, Jordan 6 September 1970 8 days
Marin County Civic Center attacks San Rafael, California, United States 7 August 1970 2 hours
Operation Dragon Rouge Stanleyville, Congo-Léopoldville 24 November 1964 20–30 days
Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 hijacking Stanley, Falkland Islands 28 September 1966 2 days
Siege of Sidney Street London, United Kingdom 2 January 1911
Battle of Ballingarry Ballingarry, Ireland, United Kingdom 29 July 1848 1 day
Froberg mutiny Fort Ricasoli, Malta 4 April 1807 6 days

See also

References

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  3. ^ "Amsterdam Apple store gunman dies of injuries". The Guardian. 2022-02-22.
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  8. ^ "Holey Artisan cafe: Bangladesh Islamists sentenced to death for 2016 attack". 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
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  13. ^ Jamjoom, Mohammed (13 August 2009). "Yemen lays out truce terms to rebel fighters". CNN. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  14. ^ https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/1527804.html
  15. ^ Hengesbach, Susanne (2025-07-26). "„Rettung das größte Geschenk": Bus-Entführung in Köln vor 30 Jahren – Sieben Stunden Todesangst". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German).
  16. ^ Daniels, Joseph (4 April 2022). "A history behind the 1991 Sacramento Good Guys hostage situation". ABC 10. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  17. ^ "Gladbecker Geiselnahme: Geblieben sind Schmerz und Trauer". Aachener Zeitung. 16 August 2018.
  18. ^ van Gool, Roy (2018-03-13). "'Dat is je missie en die voer je uit'". RTV Drenthe (in Dutch).
  19. ^ "Wat gebeurde er tijdens de Molukse treinkaping bij De Punt?". NPO Kennis (in Dutch). 4 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Na 48 jaar kampen slachtoffers gijzeling school Bovensmilde nog met klachten". NOS (in Dutch). 2025-09-22.
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  22. ^ Rasser, Martijn (November 2005). "The Dutch Response to Moluccan Terrorism, 1970–1978". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 28 (6): 481–492. doi:10.1080/10576100591008953. ISSN 1057-610X.
  23. ^ Express, Daily (2023-10-01). "October 1st - On this day: 48 years since spaghetti house six day siege". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  24. ^ "Johannesburg Siege Ends; Police Hold Israeli Agent". www.nytimes.com. 1975-04-29. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
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  27. ^ Buijtenhuis, Robert (1985). "La mort du commandant Galopin : une mise au point". Politique africaine. 20 (1): 91–95. doi:10.3406/polaf.1985.4027. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
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