1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks

1985 terror attacks by Palestinian nationalists yes September 2024 Rome and Vienna airport attacks the Arab–Israeli conflict Rome airport 1985.jpg Aftermath in a fast food restaurant in the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport after the attack Fiumicino, ItalySchwechat, Austria Europe Europe blank laea location map before 1990.svg center infobox Europe 41 48 01 N 012 14 20 E region:IT-RM Europe 48 06 37 N 016 34 11 E region:AT Locations of the incidents in Rome, Italy and Vienna, Austria Israeli targets in Leonardo da Vinci Airport (Rome) and Vienna International Airport (Vienna) 27 December 1985 9:15 am UTC+1 Shootings, bombings 19 (+4 terrorists) 138 (+1 terrorist) Abu Nidal Organization (purported) Assault riflesGrenades The Rome and Vienna airport attacks were two major terrorist attacks carried out on 27 December 1985. Seven Arab terrorists attacked two airports in Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria, with assault rifles and hand grenades. Nineteen civilians were killed and over a hundred were injured before four of the terrorists were killed by El Al Security personnel and local police, who captured the remaining three. The attacks Rome attack At 08:15 GMT, four PalestinianKessler Gladys ESTATE OF JOHN BUONOCORE III, ) et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 06-727 (GK) ) GREAT SOCIALIST PEOPLE’S ) LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA, ) et al. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-dcd-1_06-cv-00727/pdf/USCOURTS-dcd-1_06-cv-00727-0.pdf UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 2007-07-09 gunmen walked to the shared ticket counter for Israel's El Al Airlines and Trans World Airlines at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport outside Rome, Italy, fired assault rifles and threw grenades.Moore James K. Walking the Line of Death: U.S.-Libyan Relations in the Reagan Decade, 1981–1989 May 1991 San Jose State University San Jose, CA Document No.1344297303989717 Master's 62–73Santifort Charlinda Sandler Todd Brandt Patrick T Terrorist Attack and Target Diversity Journal of Peace Research 20 August 2012 50 1 75–90 10.1177/0022343312445651 en 2890277 They killed 16 and wounded 99, including American diplomat Wes Wessels, before three of the attackers were killed by El Al security, while the remaining one, Mohammed Sharam, was wounded and captured by the Italian police. The dead included General Donato Miranda Acosta, Mexican military attache, and his secretary, Genoveva Jaime Cisneros. Victims Donato Miranda Acosta, Mexican citizen, 53 years old. Dimitrios Antonopoulos, Greek citizen, 73 years old. John Buonocore, US citizen, 20 years old. Frederick Cage, US citizen, 31 years old. Genoveva Jaime Cisneros, Mexican citizen, 25 years old. Francesco Della Scala, Italian citizen, 57 years old. Mustaph Diedda, Algerian citizen, 21 years old. Parthenia Fotiadi, Greek citizen 24 years old. Don Malend, American citizen, 31 years old. Meletios Adam, Greek citizen, 58 years old. Natasha Sophie Simpson, American citizen, 12 years old. Unidentified Israeli security agent. Mexican Military Attaché in Roma. Vienna attack Minutes later, at Schwechat Airport (Vienna International Airport) in Vienna, Austria, three terrorists carried out a similar attack. Hand grenades were thrown into crowds of passengers queuing to check in for a flight to Tel Aviv, killing two people instantly and wounding 39 others. A third victim died on 22 January 1986, of hand grenade wounds sustained in the attack. First response came from several Austrian police officers, who opened fire on the terrorists. They were supported by two plainclothes El Al security guards who helped to repel the attackers. Over 200 bullets were fired during the fight. The terrorists seized a Mercedes outside the terminal and fled, with Austrian police and El Al security guards giving chase. They killed one terrorist and captured the other two several miles from the airport after a short car chase and gun battle.Twin Attacks at the Airports of Vienna and Rome (Dec. 27, 1985) https://www.shabak.gov.il/english/heritage/affairs/Pages/AttacksattheAirports1985.aspx Israeli Security Agency Aftermath In all, the two strikes killed 19, including a child, and wounded around 140. Some contemporary reports claimed the gunmen originally intended to hijack El Al jets at the airports and blow them up over Tel Aviv;Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) attacked Airports & Airlines target (Dec. 27, 1985, Austria) http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID%3D4453 27 December 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060325180523/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=4453 25 March 2006 others concluded that the attack on waiting passengers was the original plan and that the Frankfurt airport was meant to be hit as well.Seale Patrick Abu Nidal: A Gun For Hire 1993 Arrow 978-0-09-922571-3 English 27957973244 The attacks came after increased security due to recent hijackings and official Interpol warnings that airports might be targeted by terrorists during the holiday season. Perpetrators Italian authorities stated that receipts uncovered on the terrorists indicated that they had entered Italy a few weeks earlier and had stayed in hotels near Rome. They all had Moroccan passports. It was also reported that a note in Arabic was found on the body of one of the attackers, addressed to ''Zionists'' and announcing, ''the war has begun.'' The note was reportedly signed, ''the martyrs of Palestine.''Tagliabue John 28 December 1985 AIRPORT TERRORISTS KILL 13 AND WOUND 113 AT ISRAELI COUNTERS IN ROME AND VIENNA en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/28/world/airport-terrorists-kill-13-and-wound-113-at-israeli-counters-in-rome-and-vienna.html 0362-4331 Israeli authorities first blamed the attacks on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), but its leader, Yasser Arafat, denied the accusations and denounced the strikes. The PLO expressed "indignation at the criminal act" and asserted that the attacks were coordinated as part of a "plot against the Palestinian cause", intending to force Austria and Italy into severing ties with the Palestinians.246 PLO officials recalled that Arafat had recently pledged that coordinated armed Palestinian resistance would be confined to Israel and the occupied territories.January 2026 Responsibility for the two attacks was later claimed by the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) in retaliation for Operation Wooden Leg, the Israeli bombing of PLO headquarters in Tunis on 1 October 1985.Joyner Nancy D. Challenges to Security in Air Transportation Criminal Law Forum 1 December 1992 3 2 333–335 10.1007/BF01096207 145512537 en 1046-8374 Libya was accused by the US of funding the terrorists who carried out the attacks; although they denied the charges, they did praise the assaults. According to published reports, sources close to Abu Nidal said Libyan intelligence supplied the weapons and the ANO's head of the Intelligence Directorate's Committee for Special Missions, Dr. Ghassan al-Ali, organized the attacks. Libya denied these charges as well, notwithstanding that it claimed they were "heroic operations carried out by the sons of the martyrs of Sabra and Shatila."245 Italian secret services blamed Syria and Iran.Suro Roberto Italians See Links to Syria in 1985 Airport Attack https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/06/world/italians-see-links-to-syria-in-1985-airport-attack.html?mtrref=archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org The New York Times 6 February 1987 https://web.archive.org/web/20171113071657/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/06/world/italians-see-links-to-syria-in-1985-airport-attack.html?mtrref=archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org&mtrref=web.archive.org 13 November 2017 The surviving terrorist in the Rome airport attack, a Syrian-born Palestinian, Mahmoud Ibrahim Khaled (Khalid Ibrahim), aged 18 at the time of the attack, was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in 1988. He was released early on good behavior in June 2010, was provided with an Italian residence permit, and was living and working in Rome as of early 2011. He was employed, and had a girlfriend.Associated Press Libyan-sponsored attacker now free in Rome http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-report-libyan-sponsored-attacker-now-free-in-rome-2011feb22-story.html San Diego Union-Tribune 22 February 2011 In an interview with Il Messaggero, he condemned terrorism, expressed remorse for the attacks, and said that he prays for God's forgiveness.27 March 2015 Report: Libyan-sponsored attacker now free in Rome Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/world/report-libyan-sponsored-attacker-now-free-in-rome 2021-12-28 Associated Press en-US In 1987, an Austrian court sentenced the two surviving terrorists in the Vienna airport attack to life imprisonment.https://www.diepresse.com/4892554/als-der-terror-nach-wien-schwechat-kam Als der Terror nach Wien-Schwechat kam Lisa-Sophie Horntrich Die Presse 26 December 2015 German 22 July 2020 See also Pan Am Flight 110 2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting Terrorism in the European Union References External links Terrorist Attack at Vienna Airport in 1985 https://web.archive.org/web/20150205161944/http://www.euscreen.eu/play.jsp?id=EUS_D69004FDEF374B3490078DBC8C1B907C 5 February 2015 – ORF Austrian Broadcasting Corporation news https://archive.today/20130124171845/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mrgmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4gEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2194,7381190 Terrorists Kill 13 At El Al Offices el – published on the Miami News on 27 December 1985 El Al Attacks; 16 Dead, 100 Hurt – published on Lewiston Journal on 27 December 1985 Terror raids leave 17 dead at Rome, Vienna airports Attack aimed at Israeli airline https://web.archive.org/web/20121107224735/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/474773481.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT 7 November 2012 – published on the Toronto Star on 27 December 1985 Terrorists Raid 2 Europe Airports – published on the Pittsburgh Press on 27 December 1985 BBC: "On This Day" New York Times: "ITALY NOW LINKING SYRIANS TO ATTACK AT ROME AIRPORT" Category:1985 disasters in Europe Category:1985 in Austria Category:20th-century disasters in Austria Category:1980s disasters in Italy Category:1985 murders in Italy Category:1985 murders in Austria Category:1985 building bombings Category:1985 mass shootings in Europe Category:1980s in Vienna Category:1980s in Lazio Category:20th-century mass murders in Italy Category:December 1985 in Europe Category:1985 mass murders Category:Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1985 Category:Terrorist incidents in Italy in the 1980s Category:Deaths by firearm in Austria Category:Building bombings in Italy Category:Grenade attacks in Italy Category:Spree shootings in Italy Category:Murder in Rome Category:Murder in Vienna Category:Palestinian terrorist incidents in Austria Category:Palestinian terrorist incidents in Italy Category:Terrorist attacks on airports in Europe Category:Terrorist incidents in Lazio Category:Abu Nidal attacks Category:Fiumicino Category:Schwechat