Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated and there have been mysterious explosions in the country.

CNN: Iran: Israeli operatives arrested

French officials said he was believed to have been assassinated days earlier during a failed rescue attempt.

WSJ: Terror Threat Prompts U.S. Rethink on Africa

Robert Kennedy, the Democratic presidential candidate who had been assassinated days earlier.

CNN: Behind the Scenes: Demand for change strong 40 years later

Also, in the post-Gadhafi turmoil in Libya, several diplomats, relief agencies and churches have come under attack and scores of Libyan security officials have been assassinated.

NPR: Car Bomb Targets French Embassy In Libya

But they face opposition from hardliners and are assumed to be hobbled by Pakistan, and by the lesson of two leading moderates who have been assassinated in the past 13 months.

ECONOMIST: Not yet peace, but something like it

In one instance, the IRS received a court order demanding that the IRS produce tax records for a list of individuals who had been assassinated by an organized crime figure convicted under the RICO statute.

FORBES: Some Not Ready for Prime Time Minor Developments

Admittedly, violent attacks on prominent figures were quite frequent: one American president had been assassinated in 1865 (Lincoln) and another in 1881 (Garfield), and seven attempts were made on Queen Victoria's life before her reign ended in 1901, none of them by anarchists.

ECONOMIST: The anarchists

It shot to fame towards the close of the war when Mr Wickrematunge was assassinated by men who have never been caught.

BBC: Sri Lanka Sunday Leader editor Frederica Jansz sacked

His return had been delayed by concerns among Italian security forces that he could be assassinated.

ECONOMIST: America to the rescue? | The

Immigration has been a hotly debated issue in the Netherlands since radical politician Pim Fortuyn, who was later assassinated, called for an end to immigration two years ago.

BBC: NEWS | Europe | Dutch MPs split over asylum bill