HIJACKERS WARN UNITED STATES AGAINST MILITARY INTERVENTION WITH BEIRUT HOSTAGES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87T00434R000300240047-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 24, 2010
• Sequence Number: 47
• Publication Date: July 1, 1985
• Content Type: CABLE

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Current listing of: T7799:2 06/30/85 18:30 Page:
Slug: AM-OriginalHijackers 06-3 Date: 06/04/85 01:52:09
Category:APTVri Story:p0678
-AM-Original Hijackers,0365<
^Hijackers Warn United States Against Military Intervention.<
^With AM-Beirut Hostages<
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) Two Moslem gunmen who claimed
responsibility for the TWA hijacking said Sunday they had sought
the the glory of martyrdom" and threatened to strike again if
America retaliated for the hostage-taking.
were whisked into Beirut
The two hooded men, apparently young,
airport's transit lounge almost exactly as an International Red
Cross convoy left the Lebanese capital, carrying 39 hostages to
Syria and freedom.
.. America's war machine is nothing but children's toys as far as
we are concerned," one of the hijackers, wearing a beige hood,
told reporters. 'We also warn the United States anew against
playing with fire, because we are determined to burn it with this
fire."
The men were identified as the hijackers by officials of
Hezbollah, or Party of God, the radical Shiite Moslem group
believed to have planned the seizure of the plane on June 14. The
pair would not give their names.
The two hijackers, described as brutal by passengers, turned
over the hostages to the more moderate Amal Moslem militia after
the TWA jet came to rest in Beirut on June 16.
,
We staged this hijack to show the world the ability of the
oppressed to confront America and chase its interests everywhere .
.. we were hoping that God almighty would bestow upon us the glory
of martyrdom in the defense of our nation and dignity," the hooded
man said.
He said that if the United States did not honor two demands made
by their captors _ freedom for Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails
and no reprisals against Lebanon the hijackers would strike again.
We emphasize that in the event of any violation of commitments
that had been agreed upon with a Syrian guarantee for the release
of the prisoners in occupied Palestine (Israel), we address a
strong warning to America who knows that we are capable of
accomplishing it,'' he said.
The two men refused to answer reporters' questions and left
after.reading their 10-minute statement.
It ended with the sentence "America is the great Satan," and
it was signed by: "The Oppressed On Earth." Both are phrases used
by pro-Iranian revolutionaries.
AP-NY-06-30-85 1827EDT<
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Current listing of: T6103:3 06/30/85 22:25 Page:
Slug:AM-HIJACK-DEPART Date: 06/30/85 22:06:57
Category:NYTAri Story:0112
"AM-HIJACK-DEPART< In Beirut, Hooded Men Tell of Hostages' Release< By JOHN
KIFNER= c.1985 N.Y. Times News Service= @
BEIRUT, Lebanon Hoods over their heads and automatic pistols
jammed in their pants, two men who said they were the original hijackers of
the Trans World Airlines jet held a bizarre news conference Sunday at the
moment that the 39 American hostages began their journey to Syria and
freedom after 17 days in captivity.
.. Ameri-ca is the great Satan," declared one of the men, reading an
angry statement, his head covered by what appeared to be a pillowcase with
eyeholes cut into it.
They said they had hoped to die as martyrs in the operation.
As the two men were appearing before the foreign television cameras
and journalists, their hostages were piling into a caravan of Red Cross
cars a few miles away in the Shiite settlements of of Bourj el Brajneh just
off the airport runways.
It was a strange moment, even by the standards that prevail in this
shattered, anarchic city, where violence is so routine that residents do
not flinch at the frequent bursts of automatic weapons fire throughout the
day and the night.
The two young-looking men strode from the red and white TWA jet at
a corner of the runway into the.passenger lounge of the airport, once the
center of travel for the Middle East, now dirty and seedy, a proven haven
for hijackers.
One wore a baby-blue hood, the other a beige one.
The lounge had been taken over by heavily armed, bearded young
Shiite militiamen, who were apparently from both the Amal movement and the
Party of God. The airport is in a part of Beirut controlled by Shiite
militiamen.
We staged this hijack that showed the world the ability of the
oppressed to confront America and chase its interests everywhere," said
one of the men, reading a statement in Arabic in a loud, harsh voice.
.. We never thought we will return to our people and brethren, but
we were hoping that God Almighty would bestow upon us the glory of
martyrdom in defense of our nation and dignity," he went on.
When they had finished reading their statement, they got up and
walked out the door.
The jetliner remained on the edge of the runway. A fresh crew from
the airline is reportedly supposed to come to Beirut to fly the plane out
of the airport.
The two men credited Syria with providing a solution to the impasse
that had kept the hostages captive for 17 days and a last-minute snag that
had delayed their departure from Beirut Saturday. The hostages' principal
demand had been the freedom of more than 700 Lebanese and Palestinian
prisoners held by the Israelis in Atlit prison.
This was how the men described the negotiation:
'After a direct contact the Syrian brothers made with us, we
assigned comrades to go to Damascus to reach an understanding over the the
hijack case, and after the Syrian brothers informed us of the commitments
they have received for the. release of our imprisoned brothers in Al Atlit,
we reciprocated with willingness to end the hijack in the manner that
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Current listing of: T6103:3 06/30/85 22:26 Page: 2
22:26 the realization of our demand on a basis that the American
hostages and the Lebanese prisoners be freed in batches.
That was because we do not trust America's word and commitment.
But after pledges and guarantees sponsored by President Hafez Assad that
the Atlit prisoners will be freed, especially the one made by the American
president to President Assad, and after Syria has formally announced this
commitment, and of respect for Syria's credibility and the word of its
president, Hafez Assad, we decided to free the hostages.
" But the violent threats that Reagan unleashed in Chicago made us
decide to delay the release operation until the United States backs out of
its rashness and takes up a reconciliatory tone. This was what happened.
Bowing to our demand that was communicated to the Syrian government, the
U.S. State Department has issued a statement that was published through the
international media. Therefore we announce the release of the American
hostages upon the completion of this news conference., Should any part of
the guarantees fail," the statement went on to say, -we address a strong
warning to America, who knows that we are capable of accomplishing it."
The statement was signed by The Oppressed of the Earth.''
According to officials here, Assad played a key behind-the-scenes
role in hammering out the deal to free the 39 Americans. .
They said Assad had a considerable investment in prestige riding on
freeing the hostages, after he had become a party to the arrangements to
release them through Damascus.
One clear sign Sunday of his role was the presence of three gray
cars filled with tough-looking plainclothesmen of the Syrian intelligence
parked among the motley militiamen in the shantytown where the hostages
were gathered.
AP-NY-06-30-85 2202EDT<
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