Sabri al-Barna, aka Abu Nidal[1982 file photo]
Posted on 08/19/2002 5:28:43 AM PDT by Pharmboy
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian guerrilla commander Abu Nidal, one of the world's most wanted men, has been found dead in his Baghdad home with gunshot wounds, Palestinian sources said Monday.
Abu Nidal, 65, a sworn enemy of Yasser Arafat and any Palestinian leader who sought accommodation with Israel, led a dissident Palestinian militant organization high on Washington's list of groups considered terrorist.
It was blamed for attacks in 20 countries in which hundreds of people were killed or wounded, mostly during the 1970s and 1980s.
A senior Palestinian official said Abu Nidal had died under "mysterious conditions" and it was unclear whether he was killed or committed suicide.
Senior Palestinian sources said they could confirm a report in the Palestinian Al-Ayyam newspaper which said Monday Abu Nidal's body had been found with gunshot wounds and that he died three days ago. The reports could not be independently verified.
He had suffered from leukemia for a long period, veteran Israeli commentator Yossi Melman told Israeli army radio.
"In the 1970s and 1980s, Abu Nidal was considered something of a Bin Laden," Melman said.
Abu Nidal, meaning "Father of the Struggle," was the nom de guerre of Sabri al-Bana, the head of the Fatah ( news - web sites)-Revolutionary Council group that broke with the Palestine Liberation Organization ( news - web sites) in 1974, saying it was too moderate.
Born in the Mediterranean port town of Jaffa to wealthy Palestinian parents, Abu Nidal and his family were driven out to the West Bank during the 1948 Middle East War which accompanied Israel's creation.
Driven by a hatred of Israel and of Arabs willing to seek a political settlement with the Jewish state, Abu Nidal's group waged a bloody guerrilla war across three continents with killings, bombings and hijackings.
An early incarnation of his group was blamed for killing PLO representatives in London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Brussels and Kuwait and for bombing a PLO office in Islamabad, killing four people.
He was sentenced to death in absentia by a Fatah military court. In 1982, his group tried to assassinate Israel's ambassador to Britain, setting off Israel's invasion of Lebanon to root out Palestinian guerrilla groups.
In 1984 a Jordanian airliner was attacked with a rocket while taking off from Athens.
Assassinations included a Jordanian diplomat in Ankara, the British cultural attache in Athens and the British Deputy High Commissioner in Bombay.
Sabri al-Barna, aka Abu Nidal[1982 file photo]
How come most of the terrorist leaders come from the rich and not the poor? It seems that terrorism is a plaything of the rich...
Middle East list, 'a good terrorist is a dead one'-section
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Other Names
Fatah Revolutionary Council
Arab Revolutionary Brigades
Black September
Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims
Description
International terrorist organization led by Sabri al-Banna. Split from PLO in 1974. Made up of various functional committees, including political, military, and financial.
Activities
Has carried out terrorist attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 persons. Targets include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab countries. Major attacks included the Rome and Vienna airports in December 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul and the Pan Am flight 73 hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, and the City of Poros day-excursion ship attack in Greece in July 1988. Suspected of assassinating PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul in Tunis in January 1991. ANO assassinated a Jordanian diplomat in Lebanon in January 1994 and has been linked to the killing of the PLO representative there. Has not attacked Western targets since the late 1980s.
Strength
A few hundred plus limited overseas support structure.
Location/Area of Operation
Al-Banna relocated to Iraq in December 1998, where the group maintains a presence. Has an operational presence in Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley and several Palestinian refugee camps in coastal areas of Lebanon. Also has a limited presence in Sudan and Syria, among others, although financial problems and internal disorganization have reduced the group's activities and capabilities. Authorities shut down the ANO's operations in Libya and Egypt in 1999. Has demonstrated ability to operate over wide area, including the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
External Aid
Has received considerable support, including safehaven, training, logistic assistance, and financial aid from Iraq, Libya, and Syria (until 1987), in addition to close support for selected operations.
Ooh-Ah NOTE: Red type added for emphasis ;)
Most terrorists leaders are wealthy or middle-class. So were the communists that were behind the revolution in Russia. Yet, in both cases, people commonly believe that these thugs came from and represent "the oppressed masses."
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