President Donald Trump made an unsupported assertion Monday that terrorist acts in Europe are going unreported. A look at the matter:

TRUMP: "All over Europe it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that."

THE FACTS

Trump and his team have cited only one example of a deadly terrorist attack anywhere going unreported, the one that didn’t happen in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke about a Bowling Green "massacre" that didn’t take place, correcting herself when she was called out on the error.

As for Trump’s claim about Europe, it’s probably true that you haven’t heard of every attack on the continent that can be tied to terrorism. Scores if not hundreds happen every year. Many don’t rise to the level of an international audience because they cause no casualties, or little or no property damage, or are carried out by unknown assailants for unclear reasons.

One exhaustive list is the Global Terrorism Database , maintained by the University of Maryland. It lists 321 episodes of suspected or known terrorism in Western Europe alone in 2015. Many are anti-Muslim attacks against mosques, not the brand of terrorism Trump has expressed concern about. Many are attacks undertaken for right-wing or left-wing causes that have nothing to do with Islamic extremism or xenophobic attacks on mosques.

Among examples from 2015 that were largely under the radar of Americans:

—On Oct. 24, assailants set fire to the residence of a Socialist Justice Party member in Gothenburg, Sweden, one of series of attacks against the party that day.

—On Sept. 13, assailants set fire to the Whitton Methodist Church hall in Richmond, England, with no reported casualties and no one immediately claiming responsibility.

—On Jan. 17, gunmen opened fire on patrons at a bar in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, causing no casualties. Dissident Republicans were thought to have been behind the attack.

The database defines a terrorist act as one aimed at attaining political, religious, social or economic goals through coercion or intimidation of the public, outside acts of war.

The devastating attacks by Islamic extremists that year are also on the list, among them the murderous assault on the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and the even bloodier attack at Paris’ Bataclan concert hall, the worst in a series of killings in one day. Those attacks and other deadly ones in Europe received saturation coverage for days.

But even the smaller, non-lethal acts of terrorism received coverage: The database itself is built from media reports.

THE WALKBACK Trump claims media ignores many extremist attacks Philip Rucker

President Donald Trump appears to be laying the groundwork to preemptively shift blame for any future terrorist attack on U.S. soil from his administration to the federal judiciary, as well as to the media.

In recent tweets, Trump personally attacked James Robart, a U.S. district judge in Washington…

President Donald Trump appears to be laying the groundwork to preemptively shift blame for any future terrorist attack on U.S. soil from his administration to the federal judiciary, as well as to the media.

In recent tweets, Trump personally attacked James Robart, a U.S. district judge in Washington…

(Philip Rucker)

Trump made his claim before a broad audience on live television, while speaking at Central Command headquarters in Florida.

On Air Force One, before a smaller audience, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump did not really mean that terrorist attacks received no coverage. Trump’s actual complaint, he said, was that such acts don’t get enough attention.

"He felt that members of media don’t always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered," Spicer said. "Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn’t necessarily get the same coverage."

The White House later released a list of 78 worldwide attacks (see complete list at bottom of story) it described as "executed or inspired by" IS. Most on the list did not get sufficient media attention, the White House said, without specifying which ones it considered underreported.

Attacks on the list that had high death tolls were given blanket coverage, such as the Brussels bombings in March, the San Bernadino, California, shootings in December 2015, and the Paris attacks in November 2015. Some with a smaller death toll, such as two attacks in Canada that killed one soldier each, also were covered at the time and well known.

The White House did not point to any examples supporting Trump’s contention that terrorist attacks were "not even being reported." Less than half of the 78 incidents the White House listed occurred in Europe.

Associated Press

Here’s the entire list, unedited, as released by the White House, via The Washington Post:

TIMELINE: September, 2014 – December, 2016

NUMBER OF ATTACKS: 78

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

September, 2014

TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack

ATTACKER: Abdul Numan Haider

TIZI OUZOU, ALGERIA

September, 2014

TARGET: One French citizen beheaded

ATTACKER: Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria

QUEBEC, CANADA

October, 2014

TARGET: One soldier killed and one wounded in vehicle attack

ATTACKER: Martin Couture-Rouleau

OTTAWA, CANADA

October, 2014

TARGET: One soldier killed at war memorial; two wounded in shootings at Parliament building

ATTACKER: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau

NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA

October, 2014

TARGET: Two police officers wounded in knife attack

ATTACKER: US person

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

November, 2014

TARGET: One Danish citizen wounded in shooting

ATTACKERS: Three Saudi Arabia-based ISIL members

ABU DHABI, UAE

DATE: December 2014

TARGET: One American killed in knife attack

ATTACKER: Dalal al-Hashimi

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

December, 2014

TARGET: Two Australians killed in hostage taking and shooting

ATTACKER: Man Haron Monis

TOURS, FRANCE

December, 2014

TARGET: Three police officers wounded in knife attack

ATTACKER: Bertrand Nzohabonayo

PARIS, FRANCE

January, 2015

TARGET: One police officer and four hostages killed in shooting at a kosher supermarket

ATTACKER: Amedy Coulibaly

TRIPOLI, LIBYA

January, 2015

TARGET: Ten killed, including one US citizen, and five wounded in bombing and shooting at a hotel frequented by westerners

ATTACKERS: As many as five ISIL-Libya members

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

January, 2015

TARGET: Two US citizens wounded in shooting

ATTACKER: Saudi Arabia-based ISIL supporter

NICE, FRANCE

February, 2015

TARGET: Two French soldiers wounded in knife attack outside a Jewish community center

ATTACKER: Moussa Coulibaly

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

February, 2015

TARGET: One civilian killed in shooting at a free-speech rally and one security guard killed outside the city’s main synagogue

ATTACKER: Omar Abdel Hamid el-Hussein

TUNIS, TUNISIA

March, 2015

TARGET: 21 tourists killed, including 16 westerners, and 55 wounded in shooting at the Bardo Museum

ATTACKERS: Two ISIL-aligned extremists

KARACHI, PAKISTAN

April, 2015

TARGET: One US citizen wounded in knife attack

ATTACKERS: Pakistan-based ISIL supporters

PARIS, FRANCE

April, 2015

TARGET: Catholic churches targeted; one civilian killed in shooting, possibly during an attempted carjacking

ATTACKER: Sid Ahmed Ghlam

ZVORNIK, BOSNIA

April, 2015

TARGET: One police officer killed and two wounded in shooting

ATTACKER: Nerdin Ibric

GARLAND, TX, USA

May, 2015

TARGET: One security guard wounded in shooting at the Prophet Muhammad cartoon event

ATTACKERS: Two US persons

BOSTON, MA, USA

June, 2015

TARGET: No casualties; one police officer attacked with knife

ATTACKER: US person

EL GORA (AL JURAH), EGYPT

June, 2015

TARGET: No casualties; camp used by Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) troops attacked in shooting and bombing attack

ATTACKERS: Unknown number of ISIL-Sinai members

LUXOR, EGYPT

June, 2015

TARGET: One police officer killed by suicide bomb near the Temple of Karnak

ATTACKER: Unidentified

SOUSSE, TUNISIA

June, 2015

TARGET: 38 killed and 39 wounded in shooting at a beach frequented by westerners

ATTACKERS: Seifeddine Rezgui and another unidentified attacker

LYON, FRANCE

June, 2015

TARGET: One civilian killed in beheading and explosion at a chemical plant

ATTACKER: Yasin Salhi

CAIRO, EGYPT

July, 2015

TARGET: One killed and nine wounded in VBIED attack at Italian Consulate

ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL operatives

CAIRO, EGYPT

July, 2015

TARGET: One Croatian national kidnapped; beheaded on August 12 at an unknown location

ATTACKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operative

PARIS, FRANCE

August, 2015

TARGET: Two civilians and one US soldier wounded with firearms and knife on a passenger train

ATTACKER: Ayoub el-Khazzani

EL GORA, EGYPT

September, 2015

TARGET: Four US and two MFO troops wounded in IED attack

ATTACKER: Unidentified

DHAKA, BANGLADESH

September, 2015

TARGET: One Italian civilian killed in shooting

ATTACKER: Unidentified

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

September, 2015

TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack

ATTAKER: Palestinian national

EL GORA, EGYPT

October, 2015

TARGET: No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets

ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives

PARRAMATTA, AUSTRALIA

October, 2015

TARGET: One police officer killed in shooting

ATTAKER: Farhad Jabar

RANGPUR, BANGLADESH

October, 2015

TARGET: One Japanese civilian killed in shooting

ATTAKER: Unidentified

HASANAH, EGYPT

October, 2015

TARGET: 224 killed in downing of a Russian airliner

ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives

MERCED, CA, US

November, 2015

TARGET: Four wounded in knife attack on a college campus

ATTAKER: US person

PARIS, FRANCE

November, 2015

TARGET: At least 129 killed and approximately 400 wounded in series of shootings and IED attacks

ATTAKERS: Brahim Abdelslam, Saleh Abdeslam, Ismail Mostefai, Bilal Hadfi, Samy Amimour, Chakib Ahrouh, Foued Mohamed Aggad, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud

DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH

November, 2015

TARGET: One Italian citizen wounded in shooting

ATTAKER: Unidentified

RAJLOVAC, BOSNIA

December, 2015

TARGET: Two Bosnian soldiers killed in shooting

ATTAKER: Enes Omeragic

SAN BERNADINO, CA, US

December, 2015

TARGET: 14 killed and 21 wounded in coordinated firearms attack

ATTAKERS: Two US persons

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK

December, 2015

TARGET: Three wounded in knife attack at an underground rail station

ATTAKER: Muhyadin Mire

DERBENT, RUSSIA

December, 2015

TARGET: One killed and 11 wounded in shooting at UN World Heritage site

ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Caucasus operative

CAIRO, EGYPT

January, 2016

TARGET: Two wounded in drive-by shooting outside a hotel frequented by tourists

ATTAKERS: Unidentified ISIL operatives

PARIS, FRANCE

January, 2016

TARGET: No casualties; attacker killed after attempted knife attack on Paris police station

ATTAKER: Tarek Belgacem

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

January, 2016

TARGET: One police officer wounded in shooting

ATTAKER: US person

HURGHADA, EGYPT

January, 2016

TARGET: One German and one Danish national wounded in knife attack at a tourist resort

ATTAKER: Unidentified

MARSEILLES, FRANCE

January, 2016

TARGET: One Jewish teacher wounded in machete attack

ATTAKER: 15 year-old Ethnic Kurd from Turkey

ISTANBUL, TURKEY

January, 2016

TARGET: 12 German tourists killed and 15 wounded in suicide bombing

ATTAKER: Nabil Fadli

JAKARTA, INDONESIA

January, 2016

TARGET: Four civilians killed and more than 20 wounded in coordinated bombing and firearms attacks near a police station and a Starbucks

ATTAKERS: Dian Joni Kurnaiadi, Muhammad Ali, Arif Sunakim, and Ahmad Muhazan bin Saron

COLUMBUS, OH, US

February, 2016

TARGET: Four civilians wounded in machete attack at a restaurant

ATTAKER: US person

HANOVER, GERMANY

February, 2016

TARGET: One police officer wounded in knife attack

ATTAKER: Safia Schmitter

ISTANBUL, TURKEY

March, 2016

TARGET: Four killed and 36 wounded in suicide bombing in the tourist district

ATTAKER: Mehmet Ozturk

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

March, 2016

TARGET: At least 31 killed and 270 wounded in coordinated bombings at Zaventem Airport and on a subway train

ATTAKERS: Khalid el-Bakraoui, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Najim Laachraoui, Mohammed Abrini, and Osama Krayem

ESSEN, GERMANY

April, 2016

TARGET: Three wounded in bombing at Sikh temple

ATTAKERS: Three identified minors

ORLANDO, FL, US

June, 2016

TARGET: 49 killed and 53 wounded in shooting at a nightclub

ATTAKER: US person

MAGNANVILLE, FRANCE

June, 2016

TARGET: One police officer and one civilian killed in knife attack

ATTAKER: Larossi Abballa

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

June, 2016

TARGET: 14 killed in suicide attack on a bus carrying Canadian Embassy guards

ATTAKER: ISIL-Khorasan operative

ISTANBUL, TURKEY

June, 2016

TARGET: 45 killed and approximately 240 wounded at Ataturk International Airport

ATTACKERS: Rakhim Bulgarov, Vadim Osmanov, and an unidentified ISIL operative

DHAKA, BANGLADESH

July, 2016

TARGET: 22 killed, including one American and 50 wounded after hours-long siege using machetes and firearms at holy Artisan Bakery

ATTACKERS: Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Khairul Islam Paye, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal

NICE, FRANCE

July, 2016

TARGET: 84 civilians killed and 308 wounded by an individual who drove a truck into a crowd

ATTACKER: Mohamed Bouhlel

WURZBURG, GERMANY

July, 2016

TARGET: Four civilians wounded in axe attack on a train

ATTACKER: Riaz Khan Ahmadzai

ANSBACH, GERMANY

July, 2016

TARGET: At least 15 wounded in suicide bombing at a music festival

ATTACKER: Mohammad Daleel

NORMANDY, FRANCE

July, 2016

TARGET: One priest killed in knife attack

ATTACKERS: Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean

CHALEROI, BELGIUM

August, 2016

TARGET: Two police officers wounded in machete attack

ATTACKER: Khaled Babouri

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

August, 2016

TARGET: Two killed and one wounded in knife attack at a hostel frequented by Westerners

ATTACKER: Smail Ayad

COPENHAGEN, DENMAKR

September, 2016

TARGET: Two police officers and a civilian wounded in shooting

ATTACKER: Mesa Hodzic

PARIS, FRANCE

September, 2016

TARGET: One police officer wounded in raid after VBIED failed to detonate at Notre Dame Cathedral

ATTACKERS: Sarah Hervouet, Ines Madani, and Amel Sakaou

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

September, 2016

TARGET: One civilian wounded in knife attack

ATTACKER: Ihsas Khan

CLOUD, MN, US

September, 2016

TARGET: 10 wounded in knife attack in a mall

ATTACKER: Dahir Ahmed Adan

NEW YORK, NY; SEASIDE PARK AND ELIZABETH, NJ, US

September, 2016

TARGET: 31 wounded in bombing in New York City; several explosive devices found in New York and New Jersey; one exploded without casualty at race in New Jersey; one police officer wounded in shootout

ATTACKER: Ahmad Khan Rahami

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

October, 2016

TARGET: Two police officers wounded in stabbing

ATTACKER: Belgian national

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT

TARGET: No casualties; vehicle carrying three US soldiers hit by a truck

ATTACKER: Ibrahim Sulayman

MALMO, SWEDEN

October, 2016

TARGET: No casualties; mosque and community center attacked with Molotov cocktail

ATTACKER: Syrian national

HAMBURG, GERMANY

October, 2016

TARGET: One killed in knife attack

ATTACKER: Unknown

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

November, 2016

TARGET: No casualties; failed IED attempt near US Embassy

ATTACKERS: Philippine nationals aligned with the Maute group

COLUMBUS, OH, US

November, 2016

TARGET: 14 wounded by individuals who drove a vehicle into a group of pedestrians and attacked them with a knife

ATTACKER: US person

N’DJAMENA, CHAD

November, 2016

TARGET: No casualties; attacker arrested after opening fire at entrance of US Embassy

ATTACKER: Chadian national

KARAK, JORDAN

December, 2016

TARGET: 10 killed and 28 wounded in shooting at a tourist site

ATTACKERS: Several gunmen

BERLIN, GERMANY

December, 2016

TARGET: 12 killed and 48 wounded by individual who drove truck into a crowded market

ATTACKER: Anis Amri

 

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.