Abu Nidal

Abu Nidal (May 1937 – August 16, 2002), born Sabri Khalil al-Banna, also known as Amin al-Sirr and Sabri Khalil Abd Al Qadir, was a Palestinian political leader and the founder of Fatah - the Revolutionary Council (Fatah al-Majles al-Thawry), also known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO), Black June, the Arab Revolutionary Brigades, the Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims, and sometimes operating as Black September. Before the rise of Osama bin Laden, Abu Nidal, or "father of struggle," was regarded as one of the world's most ruthless terrorist leaders.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Part of the secular, left-wing Palestinian rejectionist front, so-called because they reject proposals for a peaceful settlement with Israel, the ANO was formed after a split in 1974 between Abu Nidal and Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Setting himself up as a freelance contractor, or mercenary, Abu Nidal was based over the years in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and toward the end of his life once again in Iraq, and is believed to have been responsible for ordering attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring over 900 people. http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/abu.htm The group is not known to have been active since 1991, when an ANO gunman assassinated Abu Iyad, the deputy chief of the PLO.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The ANO's most notorious attacks were on the El Al ticket counters at Rome and Vienna airports on December 27, 1985, when Arab gunmen doped on amphetamines opened fire on passengers in simultaneous attacks, killing 18 and wounding 120. Patrick Seale, Abu Nidal's biographer, wrote of the attacks that their "random cruelty marked them as typical Abu Nidal operations" (Seale 1992).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Abu Nidal died of between one and four gunshot wounds in Baghdad in August 2002, believed by Palestinian sources to have been killed on the orders of Saddam Hussein, but said by the Iraqi government to have committed suicide. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2203004.stm When he died, The Guardian wrote: "He was the patriot turned psychopath. He served only ... the warped personal drives that pushed him into hideous crime. He was the ultimate mercenary." http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4484907-103684,00.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

__TOC__

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

May: : This article is about the month of May. For other uses, see May (disambiguation)....

1937: 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar)....

August 16: August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 137 days remaining....

Abu Nidal related Images and Photos (experimental)

Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates	Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (DVD)	Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Middle East	Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Razi Known as Rhazes in the West
Abu Muhammad Arabian Visionary and Prophet Founder of Islam	Head of King Djedefre from Abu Roash Old Kingdom circa 2565-2558 BC	Sudanese Displaced Children Play Soccer at Abu Shouk Camp	Colossal Statue of Ramesses Ii at Abu Simbel 1850
Nubia: Western Colossus of Spéos of Hwr Abu Simbel	Ramses Temple and the Nile Shoreline at Abu Simbel	The Excavation of the Great Temple of Ramesses II Abu Simbel 1819	The Excavation of the Great Temple of Ramesses II Abu Simbel