LIBYAN INVOLVEMENT IN TERRORISM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90T00114R000800810001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 17, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 1, 1986
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for
Release 2012/02/17:
CIA-RDP90TO0114R000800810001-1
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for
Release 2012/02/17:
CIA-RDP90TOO114 R000800810001-1
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Libyan leader Mu'ammar Qadhafi has used terrorism as one of
the primary instruments of his foreign policy. The main targets
have been expatriate Libyan dissidents and leading officials of
moderate Arab and African governments. In addition, Tripoli has
provided encouragement, funding, training, and arms to insurgents
and dissidents from many countries whose government policies or
leaders displease Oadhafi.
The level and types of Libyan terrorism as well as the mix
between terrorism and other kinds of subversion have varied
considerably over the years, but the goals it is designed to
achieve have remained constant:
to neutralize Qadhafi's domestic opponents abroad.
to make Qadhafi a recognized leader of the Arab world.
to make Libya the dominant state in North Africa.
To establish Libyan political leadership in black
Africa, eliminating the French position and influence
there.
to spread Qadhafi's vision of Islam as a weapon for the
Third World in its struggle against colonialism and
imperialism.
Attacks Against Exiles
Regime exiles are Qadhafi's leading target. The Libyan
Government in 1980 began a concerted effort to assassinate anti-
Qadhaj~ exiles. By the time the first phase ended in 1981, 11
Liyban dissidents living abroad had been murdered. 9Since then,
Oadhafi has alternated between urging the exiles to return home
to Libya and ordering new liquidation campaigns against the
dissidents among them.
Libya in 1985 sponsored five attacks against exiled Libyan
dissidents. Qadhafi maintains a "hit list" of exiles and pursues
these individuals whenever the opportunity presents itself. In
almost all cases, the assassins use handguns to kill their
victims. Qadhafi generally uses Libyans for antiexile
operations; for other types of attacks he tends to employ
surrogates or mercenaries.
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Libyan exiles were attacked in five different European
countries in 1985--Greece, West Germany, Cyprus, Italy
and Austria.
The Libyan exile community in Egypt has also been a
frequent target, but Egyptian authorities have been
effective in thwarting attacks. A four-man Libyan team
was arrested in November during an attempted attack
against a gathering of exiles near Cairo.
Libya also plotted antiexile attacks in the United
States. In fay 1985, a Libyan diplomat at the United
Nations was declared persona non grata and 16
nonofficial Libyans were subpoenaed to appear before a
US grand jury in connection with a plot to kill Libyan
dissidents in four different states.
Plots Against Moderate Arab Officials
Qadhafi also targets moderate Arab governments for their
refusal to continue the military struggle against Israel and for
their links to the West. Terrorism supplements military threats,
vitriolic press attacks, the sponsoring of dissidents, and other
types of subversion--interspersed with occasional periods of
diplomatic courting.
There have been persistent rumors of assassination plots
against such Arab leaders as President Mubarak of Egypt and
former President Nimeiri of Sudan. In November 1984, Egyptian
security forces-arrested four Liyban-hired mercenaries for
plotting to kill a prominent Libyan exile. The arrestees stated
that Libya's target list for assassinations included President
Mubarak as well as prominent.Libyan exiles in Egypt.
Qadhafi's primary targets in 1985 were the governments of
Egypt and Tunisia.
-- Egypt during the year captured several teams of Libyan-
supported Egyptian dissidents who reportedly planned to
destabilize the government by sabotage andf other
disturbances.
Tripoli expelled more than 30,000 Tunisian workers from
Libya in August 1985, probably hoping to destabilize
Tunisia's shaky economy. Soon thereafter, a Libyan
diplomat used the diplomatic pouch to smuggle letter
bombs addressed to Tunisian journalists into the
country. After two postal workers were injured when
several of these bombs exploded, Tunisia severed
relations.
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i -
Support to Radical Palestinians
The recent attacks against the El Al Airline counters in
Rome and Vienna have focused attention on the alarming links
between Libya and radical Palestinians.
-- Tunisian authorities announced that the passports used
by the Abu Nidal terrorists in the El Al attacks were
confiscated from Tunisians when Libya expelled Tunisian
workers. The passport link is the first concrete
evidence of operational support by Libya.
Abu Nidal reportedly has bases in Libya.
Libya reportedly provides financial support and training
to several radical Palestinian groups.
Support for African Insurgents and Terrorists
Tripoli provides arms, training, and money to insurgents in
the Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic and Zaire, and
encourages them to conduct terrorist attacks. Qadhafi usually
prefers to ensure plausible denial in acts of terrorism which
Libya sponsors. The use of surrogates is one way in which he
distances Libya from attacks; many of the surrogates belong to
dissident groups whom Libya supports. Libya is particularly
active in supporting these groups in sub-Saharan Africa.
-- In February 1985, Chad complained to the UN that Libya
had attempted to assassinate President Habre in
September 1984. Photographs of the Libyan-made attache
case bomb that was to be used in the attack were
provided as evidence.
-- Tripoli funds, trains, and arms Zairian dissidents and
then sends them home on terrorist and subversive
missions. Zairian officials claim to have thwarted a?
Libyan-sponsored plot against President Mobutu in
September 1985.
Libya has conducted extensive subversive activity in
Sudan since the April 1985 coup that overthrew the
Nimeiri regime. No terrorist incidents have occurred to
date, but a terrorist network is in place and could be
activated at any time.
Activities in Latin America and Asia
Qadhafi appears increasingly intent on extending his
revolution to areas far removed from Libya. He has provided
funding and arms to dissident groups in Asia and Latin America.
In the Caribbean, Libya hopes to gain political-influence
and undermine US and French interests. According to local press,
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Tripoli offered dissident support on the condition that they
perfo4m acts of violence. According to Colombian authorities the
11-19 in Colombia receives support--including money and arms--from
Libya.
The Libyan effort in Asia and the Pacific is less
.substantial but growing. Most Libyan activity is subversive--the
provision of funds and training to dissidents--but Tripoli
occasionally offers support for specific events.
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31 December 1985
Chronology of Libyan Troublemaking 1980-85
December Italy/Austria Passports used by Abu Nidal terrorists in attack
on El Al counter provided by Libya.
November :Ialta: Hijacking of Egyptair airliner by Abu Nidal
supporters may have involved Libyan support.
October Greece Libyan merchant wounded in Athens by two gunmen
the victim had left Libya five years earlier.
September Tunisia Libyan diplomat smuggles about 100 letter bombs
addressed to journalists into Tunisia. Several
explode injuring two postal workers and causing
Tunisia to sever diplomatic relations.
May
United A Libyan diplomat at the United Nations was
States: declared persona non grata, and 16 non-official
Libyans were subpoenaed to appear before a United
States grand jury in connection with a plot to
kill dissidents in several different states.
April West Germany: Moroccan citizen resident in the FRG since 1960
killed by Libyan, who was arrested at the scene.
West Germany:
Cyprus:
Anti-Qadhafi Libyan student killed in Bonn by
Libyan gunman who was arrested. The assassin also
wounded two German passersby, one seriously. The
victim had been a target of the Libyan regime for
at least two years.
Libyan businessman assassinated in downtown
Nicosia by an unidentified gunman. The victim was
the director of an offshore holding company and
was believed to be an opponent of the Liyban
regime.
March Italy: Libyan jeweler murdered in his shop in Rome. A
silencer-equipped pistol was left at the scene by
the assassin.
February Austria: Former Libyan Ambassador to Austria severely
wounded by two shots fired from a car outside his
home in Vienna. The victim had supported
Qadhafi's seizure of power in 1969, but he quit
his post in disgust at the regime in 1980.
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1984
November Egypt: President Mubarak announces that four assassins
sent to Egypt by Libya to kill former Libyan Prime
Minister Bakoush had been arrested and forced to
send fake pictures to the Libyan Embassy in Malta
showing Bakoush apparently dead. Official Libyan
press sources then claimed Bakoush had been
executed by suicide squads sent abroad "to
liquidate enemies of the revolution."
September Italy: A Libyan exile was found gagged and strangled in a
hotel in Rome. The victim had been the subject of
Libyan requests for deportation to Libya.
Chad: Chadians discover plot to assassinate President
Habre with an attache case bomb. Evidence of the
plot, including photographs of the bomb, was
provided to the United Nations the following
February when Chad lodged a complaint against
Libya.
August
July
United One of six Libyans awaiting trial for bomb attacks
Kingdom: in London in March, 1983 found shot to death in a
London apartment. The victim may have been
silenced by the Libyan government.
Belgium: A bomb wrecks a car parked in front of the Zairian
Embassy in Brussels.
Belgium: A bomb exploded in the Brussels office of Air
Zaire.
Libya mined the Red Sea, damaging 18 merchant
ships of varying nationalities.
Greece: Two Libyan students found murdered in their
apartment in a crime reminiscent of Libyan
killings of anti-Qadhafi students in 1980 and
1981. The two were beaten strangled, and gagged
before being shot twice in the back.
Anti-Qadhafi Libyan editor of an Arab newspaper in
Athens killed by two men on a motorbike.
Greece: A Libyan-born citizen known to distribute anti-
Qadhafi literature at his store shot by a Libyan
employee of Libyan Arab Airlines.
May Libya: Jana, the official Libyan news agency, announces
"the Libyan masses have decided to form suicide
commandos to chase traitors and stray dogs
wherever they are and liquidate them physically."
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April United A bomb hidden in an unclaimed suitcase probably
Kingdom: unloaded from a Libyan airliner explodes at
London's Heathrow Airport, injuring 25.
Libya: A number of British subjects in Libya arrested on
trumped-up charges as hostages in order to
pressure British government during siege of Libyan
People's Bureau in London.
United British policewoman killed and 11 anti-Qadhafi
Kingdom: demonstrators wounded by gunfire from London
Libyan People's Bureau. After a siege, British
authorities found weapons and spent shell casings
in the vacated embassy.
United Four bombs explode in London and Manchester near
Kingdom: homes of Libyan exiles or at businesses frequented
by them. Over 25 people injured. Three other
bombs defused. Nine Libyan suspects -arrested.
One Libyan TU-22 bomber drops bombs on Omdurman,
Sudan, site of a radio transmitter used by anti-
Qadhafi oppositionists.
February Libya: Following annual Libyan General People's Congress,
the Libyan Revolutionary Committees announce that
all Libyan exiles must return to Libya or face
"the death penalty."
Libya: Libyan authorities take no action while a mob
burned the Jordanian Embassy in Tripoli.
Congo:
August
July
Chadian dissidents ready to negotiate with
Government of Chad threatened in Brazzaville,
Congo.
Upper Volta: Libya gave material supportVto coup in Upper
Volta.
Chad:
Libya invaded Chad for the second time.
Occupation continues into 1985.
West Germany: Eight Libyan students in West Germany, all members
of an anti-Oadhafi group, complain Libyan agents
are harassing and threatening them.
February Libya: Libyan General People's Congress warn all Libyans
in exile to return home or face the "anger of the
Libyan people."
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1982 No incidents known.
November Sudan: Several bombs explode near government
installations in Khartoum.
October Sudan: Planned assassination of visiting Chadian
official, Hussein Habre, failed when those sent to
conduct the operation surrendered.
Egypt: Two bombs explode in luggage being unloaded from a
plane coming from Libya via Malta.
August Libya:
July United
States:
February Italy:
Two Libyan SU-22s that fired at US Navy F-14s over
Gulf of Sidra shot down.
Anti-Qadhafi Libyan student killed Ogden, Utah.
Bomb explodes in front of Chadian Embassy in
Khartoum.
Libyan gunmen open fire on passengers arriving at
Rome's airport on a flight from Algiers.
Prominent anti-Qadhafi exile was the target.
I
November United Anti-Qadhafi Libyan student brutally murdered in
Kingdom: London.
United Two children of an anti-Qadhafi Libyan poisoned by
Kingdom: eating peanuts containing thalium.
October Chad: Libyan forces occupied Chad. Qadhafi attempted to
force a Libya-Chad union.
V
Gambia: Libyan subversion in Gambia caused break in
relations. Senegalese troops intervene under a
mutual defense treaty.
June Italy:
Italy:
Anti-Qadhafi exile wounded in Rome.
Libyan exile killed in Milan within hours after
expiration of a deadline set by Qadhafi for all
Libyan exiles to return home.
May Italy: Libyan exile shot at in Rome. The arrested Libyan
gunman says he was sent by Libya "to kill an enemy
of the people."
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Greece: Libyan exile killed in Athens. His throat was
slit.
Italy: Libyan businessman found strangled to death in
Rone.
West Germany: Libyan exile gunned down in Bonn.
Italy: Libyan exile killed in Rone by two gunshots to the
head.
April United Libyan lawyer shot and killed in London.
Kingdom:
Italy: Well known Libyan businessman killed. The
arrested assassin said he was an enemy of Colonel
Qadhaf i .
United Two gunmen kill an anti-Qadhafi Libyan journalist.
Kingdom:
February Libya: Tunisian and French Embassies in Tripoli sacked
and burned by a mob while Libyan authorities took
no action.
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