Trump says terror attacks 'under-reported': Is that true?

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Media caption,

Donald Trump: "All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where [attacks are] not even being reported."

US President Donald Trump has accused the media of under-reporting terror attacks, and produced a list to back up his claim. Is he right?

While on a visit to US Central Command, a wing of the Department of Defense, he warned of the danger posed by the Islamic State group.

"You have seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening," he said.

"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."

Later in the day, the White House published a list of attacks "executed or inspired" by IS. Before the list was published, press secretary Sean Spicer said there were "several instances" of attacks that had not gained sufficient media coverage (without specifying which fell into that category).

We have reproduced the list below, explaining in each case what happened and whether we reported on it. Of the 78 incidents listed by the White House, we did not report only 12 of them - some were so minor they received barely any coverage elsewhere.

Just because the BBC covered an attack does not mean that incident was not under-reported, although it is unclear whether Mr Trump was referring to US or global news organisations. And some terrorist incidents do get more coverage than others, a point that has been hotly debated on social media.

Most of the atrocities listed by the White House were committed by Islamists, and the killing of nine black worshippers by a self-avowed white supremacist in South Carolina is notably absent.

Absent too is the 2016 bombing of a shopping centre in Baghdad that killed some 300 people, and last week's deadly assault on a mosque in Quebec City.

The White House List

Melbourne, September 2014

What happened: A teenager was shot dead after he stabbed two police officers. He was a "known terror suspect" whose passport had been cancelled on security grounds.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Tizi Ouzou, Algeria, September 2014

What happened: An Algerian jihadist group linked to Islamic State (IS) militants beheaded French tourist Herve Gourdel

Did we cover it? Yes.

Quebec, October 2014

What happened: Martin Couture Rouleau, who had been influenced by Islamic extremists, drove a car at two soldiers before being shot dead.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Ottawa, October 2014

Media caption,

Footage from the Toronto Globe and Mail show a hail of bullets being fired inside the Canadian parliament building

What happened: A soldier is killed at a war memorial by gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who had converted to Islam but not displayed militant behaviour. The shooting continued inside parliament.

Did we cover it? Yes. We had extensive coverage of the Ottawa attack, but here's our timeline of events, and our live coverage of the shootings.

New York City, October 2014

What happened: Policemen were attacked by a man wielding an axe.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Riyadh, November 2014

What happened: A Danish man was wounded in a shooting in the Saudi capital.

Did we cover it? No, but here is Reuters' report.

Abu Dhabi, December 2014

Media caption,

Police released footage of the arrest, as Mark Lobel reports

What happened: An American teacher was killed by an Emirati woman in the toilet of a shopping centre

Did we cover it? Yes. Here's our first report into the attack, and here's our report when the perpetrator was executed.

Sydney, December 2014

Media caption,

The moment police stormed the Australian siege cafe

What happened: Three people, including the Iranian hostage taker, were killed in the 16-hour siege of a cafe in central Sydney

Did we cover it? Yes, extensively - here is our timeline of events, and our live coverage.

Joue les Tours, France, December 2014

What happened: A man brandishing a knife shouting "God is great" in Arabic is shot dead by police.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Paris, January 2015

Media caption,

Gavin Hewitt reports: "There is a sign that this is a defining moment for France"

What happened: Attacks, including a gun assault on the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo magazine and a siege in a kosher supermarket, leave 17 people dead.

Did we cover it? Yes. As the biggest terror attack in a Western country in several years, the attacks gained a huge amount of coverage. Here is our detailed report of the events in Paris that month. You can find more material, including obituaries for the victims, here.

Tripoli, Libya, January 2015

What happened: Nine people, including at least five foreigners, died in an attack on a hotel.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Riyadh, January 2015

What happened: The White House list says: "Two US citizens wounded in shooting." There are no reports of an attack in the Saudi capital that month. But two US citizens were caught up in a gun attack in the north of the country.

Nice, February 2015

What happened: Three soldiers were attacked by a man with a knife outside a Jewish centre in the southern French city.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Copenhagen, February 2015

What happened: Two people were killed and five injured in two attacks in the Danish capital; the attacker was later killed.

Did we cover it? Yes. Our news channels provided rolling coverage of the search for the attacker - here is one of our online reports of the events.

Tunis, March 2015

Media caption,

A sea of red and white national flags filled one of Tunis's main boulevards

What happened: An attack on the Bardo Museum in the Tunisian capital killed 22 people.

Did we cover it? Yes. You can see some of our coverage here and the stories from some of the survivors here.

Karachi, April 2015

What happened: The White House list says: "One US citizen wounded in knife attack," adding that "Pakistan-based [IS] supporters" were responsible.

Did we cover it? No. But you can read our report on a deadly attack on polio workers in Karachi the same month here.

Paris, April 2015

What happened: There were no terror attacks in the French capital this month. The White House appears to be referring to the arrest of a man, who had apparently shot himself by accident, on suspicion of plotting to blow up churches.

Zvornic, Bosnia, April 2015

What happened: A gunman shouting "God is great" in Arabic attacked a police station, killing one officer and injuring two more.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Garland, Texas, May 2015

What happened: Two gunmen were shot dead after opening fire outside a conference on cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a suburb of Dallas.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Boston, June 2015

What happened: The White House document appears to refer to the deadly shooting by police of 26-year-old Usaama Rahim, who had been under 24 hour surveillance, and approached officers with a knife.

Did we cover it? Yes.

El Gora, Egypt, June 2015

What happened: The White House says IS-linked militants targeted a camp used by the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), an international peacekeeping force based in the Sinai peninsula, in a shooting and bombing attack.

Did we cover it? No.

Luxor, June 2015

What happened: Three men approached a barrier at the entrance to the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, one of the country's most popular tourist sites. When confronted by police, one detonated an explosive belt he was wearing. A second was shot dead and a third severely wounded.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Sousse, Tunisia, June 2015

Media caption,

Hotel worker "Khaled", hailed a hero for helping tourists during the attack, speaks exclusively to the BBC

What happened: A gunman attacked a seafront hotel, killing 38 people, including 30 British tourists.

Did we cover it? Yes. You can read our special report on the Sousse tragedy here, learn more about what happened that day here, and learn more about the victims here.

Lyon, June 2015

What happened: A man was beheaded at a factory by one of his employees.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Cairo, July 2015

What happened: A blast that badly damaged the Italian consulate in Cairo was later claimed by the Islamic State group

Did we cover it? Yes.

Cairo, July 2015

What happened: Militants linked to IS said they had beheaded a Croatian scientist, Tomislav Salopek.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Paris, August 2015

Media caption,

French president Francois Hollande: "They showed us what can be done"

What happened: A radical Islamist on a train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris had an attack foiled by six passengers.

Did we cover it? Yes. And here's our story on how the hero passengers were awarded afterwards.

El Gora, Egypt, September 2015

What happened: Four American and two Fijian peacekeepers from the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) were wounded by two roadside bomb blasts in the Sinai peninsula.

Did we cover it? No, but you can read the Washington Post's story here. Two weeks earlier, we had published this piece on the insurgency in Sinai.

Dhaka, September 2015

What happened: An Italian aid worker was shot dead in the diplomatic district of Bangladesh's capital.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Copenhagen, September 2015

What happened: A Palestinian man whose asylum application was rejected attacked a policeman.

Did we cover it? No, but the Daily Telegraph did. (In another incident in the same month, a Bosnian-born Danish national shot three people in Copenhagen. Police said he had sympathies with IS. We didn't report it, but you can read more from The Local Denmark here.)

El Gora, Egypt, October 2015

What happened: The White House summed up the incident as "No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets". It said "unidentified [IS]-Sinai operatives" were responsible.

Did we cover it? No.

Parramatta, Australia, October 2015

What happened: An Australian born in Iran and of Iraqi-Kurdish heritage killed police worker Curtis Cheng.

Did we cover it? Yes. This is one of the reports we ran over several days.

Rangpur, Bangladesh, October 2015

What happened: A Japanese man was shot dead in northern Bangladesh.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Hasana, Egypt, October 2015

Media caption,

Were Islamic State militants responsible for the Sinai crash?

What happened: This refers to an area of the Sinai peninsula near where a Russian airliner was brought down by a bomb, killing all 224 people on board. The incident was covered in forensic detail by international media.

Did we cover it? Yes. Here's what we wrote on all we know about the crash - you can see our live coverage from the day here.

Merced, California, November 2015

What happened: Four people were stabbed by a student, who police later said had been inspired by IS

Did we cover it? Yes. We reported on the incident only when the IS links were detailed four months later.

Paris, November 2015

Media caption,

Paris attacks: Key locations

What happened: The explosions at the Stade de France and gun attacks on restaurants, bars and the Bataclan nightclub killed 130 people. The attacks, committed by IS militants, were one of the most widely-reported stories in recent years.

Did we cover it? Yes. You can read our detailed run-down on the events of the night here, and learn more on the victims here. Our special report on the Paris attacks, bringing together our most important material, is here.

Media caption,

Antoine Leiris: "Responding with anger would be to give in to the same ignorance that has made you what you are"

Dinajpur, Bangladesh, November 2015

What happened: An Italian priest, Piero Parolari, is attacked by unknown assailants on a motorbike, but survives.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Rajlovac, Bosnia, November 2015

What happened: A suspected Islamist shot dead two policemen before blowing himself up.

Did we cover it?Yes.

San Bernardino, California, December 2015

Media caption,

This is how events unfolded

What happened: A married couple, Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook, attacked a community centre, killing 14 people and injuring 21 more. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings in years.

Did we cover it? Yes. Here is our full breakdown of the events in San Bernardino, what we know about the victims and the attackers. And you can find all our coverage on US gun violence here.

London, December 2015

Media caption,

BBC News looks at how the attack unfolded

What happened: A man with a knife attacked passengers at Leytonstone underground station, shouting, "This is for Syria." Muhiddin Mire was later jailed for life.

Did we cover it? Yes, from beginning to end.

Derbent, Russia, December 2015

What happened: A gun attack on a citadel in Dagestan killed one person and injured 11 more. It was later claimed by IS.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Cairo, January 2016

What happened: Nine people, including six policemen, died in a raid on a militant hideout.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Paris, January 2016

What happened: On the anniversary of the first Paris attacks, a man carrying a meat cleaver was shot dead as he tried to attack a police station. He was found with a piece of paper saying he had pledged allegiance to IS.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Philadelphia, January 2016

Media caption,

Footage showed the moment of the attack

What happened: A police officer was ambushed by a man who had pledged allegiance to IS.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Hurghada, Egypt, January 2016

What happened: Three tourists were stabbed at the Red Sea resort.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Marseille, January 2016

What happened: A Turkish Kurd teenager attacked a Jewish teacher in France, saying he was acting in the name of IS.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Istanbul, January 2016

What happened: A suicide bomber with IS links killed 10 people near the city's Blue Mosque.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Jakarta, January 2016

Media caption,

Eyewitness Jeremy Douglas: "We heard a third [explosion]...a fourth, a fifth, a sixth"

What happened: A series of explosions and gun attacks in the Indonesian capital killed eight people, including the four attackers.

Did we cover it? Yes - here's everything we know about what occurred.

Columbus, Ohio, February 2016

What happened? A man who attacked four people with a machete in a restaurant, Mohamed Barry, was killed by police. He was later found to have IS links.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Hanover, Germany, February 2016

What happened: In Germany's first attack by an IS sympathiser, a teenage girl stabbed and seriously wounded a police officer in the neck.

Did we cover it? Yes, although only when the girl was sentenced to six years in prison in January.

Istanbul, March 2016

What happened: A suicide bomber struck a busy shopping area, killing four people.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Brussels, March 2016

Media caption,

Brussels explosions: Timeline of events

What happened: Bombings at Brussels airport and a metro station in the city killed 32 people from around the world. IS said it was behind the attacks.

Did we cover it? Very much so. You can find our entire coverage and analysis here, as well as the run-through of what we know and the stories of the victims.

Image source, Facebook
Image caption,
Adelma Tapia Ruiz, 37, died at Brussels airport while her husband and twin daughters played nearby

Essen, Germany, April 2016

What happened: A teenager whom police said was motivated by radical Islam bombed a Sikh temple, injuring three people.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Orlando, June 2016

Media caption,

Orlando survivor Angel Colon: "I was thinking I'm next, I'm dead"

What happened: The deadliest mass shooting in US history claimed 49 victims at a gay nightclub. Gunman Omar Mateen had pledged allegiance to IS, but his link to the group is unclear.

Did we cover it? Yes. Here is our special report into the shooting and here's our detailed run-through of the events of that night.

Magnanville, France, June 2016

What happened: A jihadist loyal to IS murdered a couple, both police employees, at their home west of Paris.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Kabul, June 2016

What happened: A suicide blast killed 14 Nepali employees of the Canadian embassy.

Did we cover it? Yes. We also covered the Taliban bombing of a police convoy that month, which killed 30 people and injured 50 more.

Istanbul, June 2016

What happened: Three attackers targeted the city's Ataturk airport, firing shots at crowds before blowing themselves up; 45 people were killed, and Turkish authorities said the attackers were linked to IS. Note that another deadly attack in the city in June 2016 was not on the White House's list.

Did we cover it? Yes. We also looked at how dangerous the growing instability in Turkey was.

Dhaka, July 2016

What happened: Islamist militants stormed a popular cafe in the Bangladeshi capital, killing 22 people.

Did we cover it?Yes.

Nice, July 2016

Media caption,

Attack in Nice: Fly-through video of how events unfolded

What happened: A lorry driver, not known to have jihadist sympathies, drove a lorry into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people. IS later said he was acting on their behalf.

Did we cover it? Thoroughly. Here is what we know about the attack, a look at who committed it, a profile of the victims and analysis on what authorities in Nice had tried to do to stop jihadism.

Wurzburg, Germany, July 2016

What happened: A teenager injured four train passengers with an axe. IS released a video purporting to show him making threats.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Ansbach, Germany, July 2016

What happened: A Syrian man blew himself up, having made a video pledging allegiance to the leader IS.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Normandy, France, July 2016

What happened: Two men entered a church near Rouen and beheaded Father Jacques Hamel, 86. IS later said two of its "soldiers" had carried out the attack.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Charleroi, Belgium, August 2016

What happened: A man was shot dead after attacking police with a machete, while shouting "God is great" in Arabic.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Queensland, Australia, August 2016

Media caption,

Mia Ayliffe-Chung had just started a three-month trip working with animals

What happened: British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung is killed at a hostel. Her attacker is alleged to have said "God is great" before killing her. A British man, Thomas Jackson, was wounded in the attack and later died.

Did we cover it? Yes. And here you can read the reaction of Mia's family to this incident being on the White House list.

Copenhagen, September 2016

What happened: Two police officers were shot during an operation in an area inhabited by squatters. While the shooter, a Bosnian-born man, was believed to have had IS sympathies, police said there was no evidence that extremism was behind the attack.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Paris, September 2016

What happened: A car packed with gas cylinders was found close to Notre Dame cathedral, in a plot police say was directed by IS.

Did we cover it? You know the tune by now. Yes.

Sydney, September 2016

What happened: Police said a man who repeatedly stabbed a 59-year-old man in a suburban park and then tried to stab a policeman was inspired by IS.

Did we cover it? Yes.

St Cloud, Minnesota, September 2016

What happened: Eight people were wounded in a stabbing attack at a shopping mall before the Somali-born attacker, claimed by IS as its "soldier", was shot dead by police.

Did we cover it? Yes.

New York and New Jersey, September 2016

Media caption,

A bomb disposal robot tried to disarm a device under a bridge near the station

What happened: A bombing in New York's Chelsea district injured 29 people and an unexploded device was found nearby. Earlier the same day, a pipe bomb exploded in a shore town ahead of a charity race. Afghan-born Ahmad Khan Rahami was later arrested.

Did we cover it? Yes, over several days.

Brussels, October 2016

What happened: Two police officers were stabbed by a man police said had jihadist sympathies.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Kuwait City, Kuwait, October 2016

What happened: An Egyptian man was detained after a bin lorry reportedly loaded with explosives crashed into a vehicle carrying five US soldiers. Only the alleged assailant was injured.

Did we cover it: No, but here is an article by the Associated Press, via the Chicago Tribune.

Malmo, Sweden, October 2016

What happened: A fire at a community centre that caused only minor damage was claimed by IS.

Did we cover it? No. But The Local Sweden did, adding that the claim by IS should be "taken with a pinch of salt".

Hamburg, October 2016

What happened: A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the German city, in an attack later claimed by IS.

Did we cover it? No, but German media did.

Manila, Philippines, November 2016

What happened: A suspected bomb was found outside the US embassy, but did not explode. Media in the Philippines linked it to a terror group with ties to IS.

Did we cover it? No.

Columbus, Ohio, November 2016

What happened: IS said it was behind a car and knife rampage at Ohio State University that left 11 people injured. The attack was carried out by a student, Somali-born Abdul Razak Ali Artan.

Did we cover it? Yes.

N'Djamena, Chad, November 2016

What happened: There were some reports of shots having been fired at the US embassy by an unknown perpetrator on 30 November, and the embassy itself said that there had been "a security incident". The White House said one man was arrested.

Did we cover it? No.

Karak, Jordan, December 2016

What happened: A siege with militants inside a castle left at least 14 people dead, including a Canadian tourist.

Did we cover it? Yes.

Berlin, December 2016

Media caption,

This taxi dashcam footage shows the lorry moments before the attack

What happened: A lorry smashed into a crowded Christmas market on 19 December, killing 12 people and injuring 49. Attacker Anis Amri, a Tunisian, was shot dead by Italian police on 23 December in Milan after a Europe-wide manhunt.

Did we cover it: In detail, yes.