This is a list of assassinations which took place on the continent of Asia.
For the purposes of this article, an assassination is defined as the deliberate, premeditated murder of a prominent figure, often for religious or political reasons.
Afghanistan DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes20 February 1919Habibullah Khan, emir of AfghanistanShuja-ud-Daula Ghourbandi8 November 1933Mohammed Nadir Shah, king of Afghanistan20th Century Timeline, p.119Abdul Khaliq Hazara17 April 1978Mir Akbar Khyber, leftist intellectual and leader in the People's Democratic Party of AfghanistanHis assassination became a catalyst for the Saur Revolution28 April 1978Mohammed Daoud Khan, President of AfghanistanKilled in the Saur Revolution14 February 1979Adolph Dubs, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan"Historic Assassinations Since 1865," The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004, p.156 (World Almanac 2004)Abducted and killed by an undetermined group14 September 1979Nur Mohammad Taraki, President of AfghanistanSaid to have been smothered to death with a pillow on the orders of Hafizullah Amin27 December 1979Hafizullah Amin, Prime Minister of AfghanistanKilled by Soviet forces in the early stages of the Soviet–Afghan War4 February 1987Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan founder of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan20 March 1995Abdul Ali Mazari, warlord and leader of the Hazara community TalibanKilled by the Taliban during the fall of Kabul27 September 1996Mohammed Najibullah, former president of AfghanistanKilled along with his brother by the Taliban during the capture of Kabul9 September 2001Ahmed Shah Massoud, leader of the Afghan Northern AllianceAl Qaeda suicide bombers working for the Taliban posing as journalistsKilled by a bomb hidden in a camera 2 days before the 9/11 attacks.26 October 2001Abdul Haq, Afghan Northern Alliance commanderKilled by remnants of the TalibanNovember 2001Mohammed Atef, alleged military chief of al-QaedaKilled in a U.S. drone strikeJuma Namangani, co-founder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan14 February 2002Abdul Rahman, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism6 July 2002Abdul Qadir, Vice President of Afghanistan12 May 2007Dadullah, Taliban senior military commanderkilled by British and German special forces 3 May 2007Abdul Sabur Farid Kuhestani, former prime minister of AfghanistanAssassinated outside his home in Kabul27 August 2009Tohir Yo'ldosh, co-founder of Islamic Movement of UzbekistanKilled in a U.S. drone strike12 July 2011Ahmed Wali Karzai, half-brother of President Hamid KarzaiSardar MohammadShot twice in the head and chest by his security guard as he was coming out of his bathroom17 July 2011Jan Mohammad Khan, former governor of UruzganKilled by the Taliban20 September 2011Burhanuddin Rabbani, former president of AfghanistanKilled in a suicide bombing by the Taliban or the Haqqani network while leading peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban5 June 2016Shir Wali Wardak, Member of the National Assembly and member of the parliamentary economic committee.Islamic State and maybe the Taliban. Killed by a hidden bomb, along with 11 other people, including bodyguards. 18 October 2018Abdul Raziq Achakzai, Lieutenant General of the Afghan Border Force31 July 2022Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of Al-QaedaKilled by a U.S. drone strike in Kabul. See Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri11 August 2022Rahimullah Haqqani, Islamic clericKilled in a suicide bombing in Kabul2 September 2022Mujib Rahman Ansari, Islamic clericKilled in a suicide bombing in Herat15 January 2023Mursal Nabizada, female former MP and Taliban critic6 June 2023Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, Governor of Badakhshan Province11 December 2024Khalil Haqqani, Acting Minister of Refugee and RepatriationKilled in a suicide bombing in Kabul
Armenia DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes14 April 1992Artur Mkrtchyan, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic15 April 1994Vardges Petrosyan, novelist and playwrightdeath remains unsolved.17 December 1994Hambardzum Galstyan, former mayor of Yerevan and member of the Karabakh Committee27 October 1999Vazgen Sargsyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, Karen Demirchyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia and 6 other politiciansNairi HunanyanWere shot dead in an attack on the Armenian National Assembly by a group of armed men who claimed to be staging a coup d'état. According to the attackers, Sargsyan was their only target, and the seven other deaths had been unintentional.2 April 2013Hrach Muradian, Mayor of Proshyan
Azerbaijan DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes26 September 1907Khanlar Safaraliyev, labor organizer and Social Democrat April 1993Eduard Huseynov, counter admiralAssassinated near his home in Baku. 29 September 1994Afiyaddin Jalilov, deputy speaker of the National AssemblyAssassinated near his home in Baku Shamsi Rahimov, intelligence and national security chiefAssassinated near his home in Baku 17 March 1995Rovshan Javadov, the chief of the Special Purpose Police Detachment of AzerbaijanKilled in the 1995 Azeri coup d'état attempt28 May 1996Ali Ansukhski, member of the National AssemblyMahir AhmadovAssassinated near his home in Baku 21 February 1997Ziya Bunyadov, historianUnknown, presumed to be HezbollahAssassinated near his home in Baku 13 March 2002Rovshan Aliyev, criminalistHaji Mammadov14 June 2004Fatulla Huseynov, colonel and vice president of the Association of Football Federations of AzerbaijanAssassinated near his home in Baku 25 March 2005Elmar Huseynov, journalistUnknown, believed to be figures within the government of AzerbaijanShot at his home in Baku. 11 February 2009Rail Rzayev, commander of the Azerbaijani Air ForceAssassinated near his home in Baku.
Bangladesh DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes15 August 1975Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, independence leader and first President of BangladeshMembers of the Awami LeagueKilled along with several members of his family in a coup planned by disgruntled Awami League colleagues and military officers led by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad. See Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman3 November 1975Muhammad Mansur Ali, Prime Minister of BangladeshKilled by military officers in Dhaka Central Jail in the aftermath of the 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'étatTajuddin Ahmad, former prime minister of BangladeshSyed Nazrul Islam, former president of BangladeshAbul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman, Minister of Industries7 November 1975Khaled Mosharraf, Chief of Army StaffKilled during the 7 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état shortly after seizing power in the 3 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état30 May 1981Ziaur Rahman, President of BangladeshGroup of Bangladesh Army officersKilled in a coup d'état led by General Abul Monjur. See Assassination of Ziaur Rahman27 January 2005Shah A M S Kibria, former Finance MinisterKilled in a grenade attack in his constituency of Habiganj, Sylhet12 December 2025Osman Hadi, poet and activistUnknownShot in the head after leaving a mosque. Hadi succumbed to his wounds on 18 December.
Bhutan DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes6 April 1964Jigme Palden Dorji, Prime Minister of Bhutan"Chief Political Assassinations Since 1865," The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1967, p.257 (World Almanac 1967)A Royal Bhutan Army corporalBahadur Namgyal, head of the Royal Bhutan Army, was later executed for the plot
Cambodia DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes14 January 1950Ieu Koeus, briefly Prime Minister of Cambodia in 194917 April 1975Long Boret, Prime Minister of the Khmer RepublicKilled by the Khmer Rouge shortly after the fall of Phnom PenhSisowath Sirik Matak, former prime minister of the Khmer Republic and member of the House of Sisowath branch of the Monarchy of CambodiaLon Non, military officer, politician and brother of President Lon Nol18 April 1975Hang Thun Hak, former prime minister of the Khmer Republic 15 June 1997Son Sen, former Defence Minister of Democratic KampucheaYun Yat, former Information Minister of Democratic KampucheaKilled during infighting within the Khmer Rouge7 January 2025Lim Kimya, politician Ekkalak Pheanoi
China DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes238 BCLord Chunshen, prime minister of the Kingdom of ChuLi Yuan192Dong Zhuo, warlord and de facto ruler of ChinaLü Bu, Li Su, Wang YunKilled in Chang'an221Zhang Fei, military general of Shu HanFan Qiang, Zhang Da11 April 618Emperor Yang of Sui, second Emperor of the Sui dynasty.Yuwenji13 July 815Wu Yuanheng, Chancellor to Emperor Xianzong1207Han Tuozhou, Chancellor to Emperor Ningzong of the Southern Song DynastyShi Miyuan (disputed)10 April 1282Ahmad Fanakati, Finance minister to Kublai Khan of the Yuan DynastyWang Zhu and Gao HeshangKilled in Khanbaliq4 September 1323Sidibala, grand-khan of the Mongol Empire, Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty22 August 1849João Maria Ferreira do Amaral, Portuguese Governor of Macau22 August 1870Ma Xinyi, Viceroy of LiangjiangZhang Wenxiang28 March 1894Kim Ok-gyun, Korean reformist and pro-Western activistHong Jong-uKilled aboard ship en route to Shanghai26 October 1909Ito Hirobumi, Japanese Resident-General of Korea and former prime minister of JapanAn Jung-geunKilled in Manchuria22 March 1913Song Jiaoren, Prime Minister-elect of the Republic of ChinaKilled in Shanghai18 May 1916Chen Qimei, revolutionary activistKilled on the orders of Yuan Shikai, probably by Yuan's general Zhang Zongchang20 August 1925Liao Zhongkai, member of the Executive Committee Kuomintang party4 June 1928Zhang Zuolin, Manchurian warlordKilled by a bomb planted by officers of the Japanese Kwantung Army.December 1941Fang Zhenwu, military officerAssassinated by Kuomintang agents15 July 1946Wen Yiduo, poet and scholarTang Shiliang, Li Wenshan22 January 2003, chairman of Jianlong SteelFeng Yinliang
Georgia DateVictim(s)Assassin(s)Notes19 June 1920Fatali Khan Khoyski, former prime minister of the Democratic Republic of AzerbaijanAram YerganianKilled by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation as part of Operation Nemesis21 July 1922Cemal Pasha, former Ottoman Navy Minister3 December 1994Giorgi Chanturia, opposition leaderShot along with his wife by four gunmen in their car20 May 2007Guram Sharadze, historian and nationalist politicianAssassinated in Tbilisi
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