TERRORISM REVIEW

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06564004
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: March 16, 2022
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2016
• Case Number: F-2016-00651
• Publication Date: December 16, 1985

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Directorate of
Intelligence
'Secret�
Terrorism Review
16 December 1985
ecret
GI TR 85-025
16 December 1985
copy 532
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All material on this page is
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"SerfoL_
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Terrorism Review
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16 December 1985
Focus: Responsibility for the Egyptair Hijacking
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Highlights
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19 Middle East: Amman Passes Fatah Members to Baghdad
21 The Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain: A Catalyst for Change
29 Colombia's Rogue Group: The Ricardo Franco Front
33 Chronology of Terrorism-1985
39
This review is published every other week by the Directorate of Intelligence.
Appropriate articles produced by other elements of the CIA as well as by other
agencies of the US Intelligence Community will be considered for publication.
Comments and queries are welcome and may be directed to the Executive Editor
(b)(3)
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Terrorism RevieH
16 December 1985
Focus Responsibility for the Egyptair Hijacking
The radical Palestinian group Abu Nidal has claimed responsibility for hijacking
the Egyptair jetliner from Athens on 23 November, but the extent of support from
other radical terrorist groups or state sponsors is unclear. Libya, Egyptian
dissidents, and radical Palestinians all have overlapping motivations that might
foster cooperation, including attacking a moderate Arab regime such as Egypt,
stagin a nublicity-getting terrorist event, and continuing the struggle against
Israel.
Abu Nidal
the Abu Nidal Group planned and
executed the hijacking. The Arab Revolutionary Brigades�a covername
sometimes used by Abu Nidal�claimed responsibility for the hijacking on
25 November jointly with the Egyptian Revolution. The case for Abu Nidal
complicity is supported to varying degrees by the following:
� The public statement declared that three Palestinians and two Egyptians carried
out the attack, adding that their names and pictures would be forthcoming. Eye-
witness reports have confirmed the existence of only three terrorists as yet.
� The pilot and some Egyptian passengers claimed the hijackers had regional
accents that most likely were Palestinian.
� The coldblooded shootings of several passengers, including women are consistent
with Abu Nidal's penchant for extreme violence.
The Abu Nidal Group has not attacked an Egifian target since 1978, however,
and has not carried out a hijacking in 11 years
Abu Nidal could have used Egyptian operatives or carried out the attack on behalf
of the Egyptian group.
In an interview from Libya in
September, a man purporting to be Sabri al-Banna (Abu Nidal's real name)
claimed that his group supported the "Organization of Egypt's Revolution" and
threatened attacks against the Mubarak regime.
The hijackers identified themselves as "Egyptian revolutionaries" who may be
linked to the Egyptian Revolution, a little known, self-proclaimed nationalist
movement that violently opposes the Camp David accords. This group claimed
credit for assassinating one Isr eli dinlomat in Cairo I st August and for wounding
another in Cairo in June 1984.
Apart from the hijackers' demand to fly to Sigonella�where the aircraft carrying
the intercepted pro-Arafat Palestinian hijackers of the Achille Lauro landed�
another puzzle remains in naming the Abu Nidal Group as the perpetrator. The
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terrorists released 11 women after the plane landed, all Filipino and Egyptian. If
Abu Nidal were responsible for the hijacking, we would expect at least the
Palestinian women aboard to have been freed, yet several Palestinian women and
eight children were not. Most of them died during the rescue attempt
How Much Help From Libya?
the Abu Nidal Group has forged closer ties to
Libya. The group has operated from Damascus since 1983 but may have quarreled
with Syria recently;
gypt claims that Sabri al-Banna is living in Tripoli and that Qadhafi paid
$6 million to carry out the hijacking. The Abu Nidal Group has its own agenda
and resources to carry out attacks, however, and an additional state sponsor is
unlikely to change the group's orientation. The group historically has accepted
support from a variety of sources in order to maintain its independence
Libya has strong motives to sponsor or encourage an attack against Egypt. The
hijacking may have been intended to exact revenge on Mubarak for a series of
successful "sting" operations against Libyan hit teams in the last year, and for
Egypt's growing support for anti-Qadhafi dissidents. Qadhafi is committed to
continuing pressure on Egypt to abrogate the Camp David accords and adopt a
more militant posture toward Israel. Qadhafi may have believed he could strike at
Mubarak at this time to capitalize on pro-Palestinian and anti-American
sentiments in the wake of the Achille Lauro hijacking.
Libya's Role in the Hijacking
Libya's own activities during the hijacking are not conclusive, but the extent of
Tripoli's involvement potentially ranges from opportunistic exploitation to active
support. Tripoli could have financed, armed, and encouraged either Palestinian
operatives or Egyptian dissidents to carry out the attack. Alternatively, Libya rtiay
have been unaware of the operation, but decided to exploit the hijacking for its
own purposes. The following details what is known about Libyan involvement to
date:
� The Libyan Ambassador to Malta was called to the airport by Maltese
authorities because the hijackers initially demanded to fly to Tripoli or Tunisia.
� When the hijackers later demanded to speak to Algerian or Libyan
representatives, Maltese Government accounts indicate the Libyan Ambassador
said he had been in touch with Libyan officials who condemned the hijacking
and said the plane would not be allowed to land in Libya. The tower relayed this
message to the hijackers and there are no further references to Libya during the
course of the incident.
� Contrary to initial reporting, surviving passengers confirm that the Libyan
Ambassador never boarded the plane.
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� On 24 November, the morning after the plane landed in Malta, the Libyan
Charge in Kuwait secretly distributed leaflets to a Kuwaiti journalist in the
name of the Egyptian Revolution that sounded as though the hijackers had
written them. According to press reports citing a Kuwaiti source, the statement
in the leaflets was handwritten by the Libyan Charge. This leads to suspicion
that Libya may have had a hand as well in the joint Arab Revolutionary
Brigades�Egyptian Revolution announcement.
� According to Egyptian officials, the surviving hijacker�now under guard in a
Maltese hospital�wants to go to Libya to join his "brothers" there. The hijacker
traveled on a Tunisian passport that probably is false; his true nationality is
unknown at this time. He claims to be a Palestinian, born in Lebanon
On balance, we believe that the hijacking was planned by the Abu Nidal Group
with the cooperation of Egyptian dissidents. We think the Abu Nidal Group �
probably trained the terrorists and may have provided a member of the hitacking
team.
At a minimum. Tripoli quickly moved to exploit the hijacking to
serve its policy objectives
Following is a chronology of events. Times given are in GMT:
22 November
1905 Egyptair Flight 648, carrying 91 passengers and six
crewmembers, takes off from Athens bound for Cairo.
1930 Well-dressed man stands up and takes gun out of plastic bag
in his pocket. During search of passengers and collection of
passports, an Egyptian sky marshal pulls his gun and kills one
of the hijackers. The ensuing firefight damages the plane so
that the cabin is depressurized and oxygen masks are released.
Hijackers demand to land in Tunis or Tripoli, but damage
forces emergency landing in Malta.
2115 Aircraft lands at Malta's Luqa Airport. Maltese Prime
Minister Bonnici already in the control tower.
2145 Hijackers ask for ambulance, engineer to assess damage. They
threaten to start killing passengers every 15 minutes if
demands are not met.
Approximately Maltese doctor goes out to the plane. Two wounded flight
2200 attendants taken off. At some point after this, 11 women (four
Egyptians and seven Filipinos) are released.
2250 Pilot reports a second person shot. First two persons shot later
determined to have been Israeli women.
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2300 US Deputy Chief of Mission meets PLO representative who
says he was called to the airport. Maltese Cabinet now
�
meeting at airport.
2305
24 November
0030
0045
Third person shot, possibly American Patrick Baker.
Hijackers threaten to kill another passenger within a half hour
if demands are not met.
Hijackers threaten to execute another passenger in 10
minutes. During negotiations with a senior Maltese official,
hijackers demand fuel to go to Sigonella Airbase in Sicily.
They pledge to spare passengers and release some of them if
they get the fuel.
0100 Head Libyan diplomat in Malta arrives in tower and asks to
speak with hijackers. The hijackers want fuel, however, before
they will speak to Libyan Ambassador, they say.
0105 Tower asks plane to let the wounded be evacuated by
ambulance. The hijackers want a reply to their demand for
fuel first. They again threaten to kill a passenger if their
demand is not met in 15 minutes.
0125 Hijacker advises tower that another passenger has been killed.
Pilot confirms death of a passenger later, determined to be
American Scarlett Rogenkamp. Hijackers threaten to kill yet
another passenger.
0200 Half an hour later, hijackers repeat their threat to kill another
passenger. Pilot says six persons now dead. This would include
American Jackie Pflug as fifth passenger casualty. Of the six,
only Rogenkamp and the hijacker killed in the takeover were
actually dead; Baker, Pflug, and the two Israeli women were
wounded.
0210 Hijackers threaten to kill a passenger every 10 minutes unless
the airport has the lights around the aircraft turned off. They
also threaten to blow up the aircraft if any vehicles come near
the plane.
0215 Pilot says bodies of four dead have been pushed out of aircraft.
Aproximately Lights around plane are turned off. Maltese security men,
0300 defying a warning from the hijackers, pick up survivors and
bodies under aircraft.
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---StrtveL
0400
0415
0715
0750
One hijacker reported to be in cockpit; the second at rear of
aircraft. At least one is said to have a handgrenade.
Hijackers request food, including infant formula, for
crewmembers and passengers.
Hijackers make further threats against all the passengers if
Maltese officials do not refuel the aircraft.
Pilot tells tower that hijackers will kill another passenger soon
and asks that the tower alert a hospital to the forthcoming
casualties.
0830 Egyptian C-130 lands at Luqa Airport carrying commandos
from "777" counterterrorist unit under command of Maj.
Gen. Mohammed Kamal Din. Plane then attempts to move to
position out of view of hijackers.
0900 Hijackers evidently have seen the plane and ask the tower
about it. They threaten to blow up aircraft if they see anyone
nearby, especially in military uniforms.
0905 Pilot says another passenger has just been executed and the
body dumped under the aircraft.
1000 Hijackers ask for the chief of the Libyan People's Bureau
(LPB) in Malta to board plane. He tells hijackers that he must
obtain permission from Tripoli in order to do so.
1015 Another passenger reportedly killed. Number of dead now
reported to be seven. Hijackers request to speak to Algerian or
Libyan officials. The Maltese Prime Minister allegedly told
them there was no Algerian mission and asked if they wanted
to talk to a PLO representative. The hijacker then asks for the
Libyan LPB man again.
1045 Pilot tells tower hijackers want to know where the Algerian
and Libyan Ambassadors are. Tower says the Libyan will
come back soon but that there is no Algerian representative in
Malta. Pilot tells tower to get the Libyan official quickly
because the terrorists are getting impatient.
1200 An Egyptian newsman notifies US Embassy in Cairo that
President Mubarak has accused Libyan leader Qadhafi of
involvement in the hijacking and has placed forces in Western
Military District on alert.
1210 Tower informs hijackers that Libyan LPB chief will arrive
soon.
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1225 Libyan Ambassador says he has contacted Tripoli, which
condemned the hijacking and denied the aircraft permission to
go to Libya. He said he would not board the plane and
reportedly left the control tower.
1230 Hijackers again threaten the death of another passenger
shortly if they do not receive fuel.
1315 Pilot says that hijackers have seen soldiers in small buildings
near the aircraft. Hijackers demand soldiers move away or
they will be fired on.
1330 Hijackers ask for a vehicle to remove a body under the
aircraft. They demand that food be delivered before the body
can be taken away.
1749 Pilot tells the tower in English that the aircraft's main doors
are sealed from the inside and that only the wing door is
available from the outside. He then says in Arabic that the
hijacker is with him now and wants the tarmac to be lighted
when ground power arrives. Pilot later claims he took
advantage of hijacker's poor command of English to pass his
message.
1920 Egyptian commandos blow off cargo doors of aircraft and
begin rescue attempt. Between this explosion and
handgrenades thrown by hijackers, fire starts, claiming 57
lives. Egyptians claim to have fired only seven or eight shots.
One surviving hijacker taken to hospital under guard.
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