Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991 Middle East Overview

The number of international terrorist incidents in the Middle East increased from 65 in 1990 to 79 in 1991, largely because of a spate of attacks in Lebanon during the Persian Gulf war.

International terrorism by Palestinians again decreased from 41 in 1990 to 19 last year. Although many of the Palestinian groups threatened to conduct terrorist operations against the international coalition opposing Baghdad's invasion of Kuwait, few such attacks actually occurred. Most incidents recorded during the Persian Gulf war were bombing attacks outside the Middle East region, and most of these were against commercial property belonging to coalition countries' firms. Few of these attacks were carried out against civilians.

There are several reasons why Palestinian terrorists did not carry out attacks in support of Saddam Hussein:

-- Military operations disrupted the command and control links between Baghdad and the terrorist networks it had established.

-- Enhanced security measures were widely implemented in most regions of the world.

-- Coalition countries expelled Iraqi diplomats and intelligence operatives. --The rapidity of the coalition advance into Iraq sealed Iraq's defeat before operations could be coordinated.

Several Palestinian groups that threatened terrorism during the Gulf war were weakened during 1991. Abu Abbas, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), left the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee in September, although the PLF itself is still represented on the Committee. The PLF also failed to follow through on the terrorist threats it issued from Baghdad during the war. The Hawari organization, which was based in Baghdad, was seriously damaged by the death of its leader, Colonel Hawari, in a car accident on the road between Baghdad and the Jordanian border immediately after the war.

During 1991, nine long-held foreign hostage's -- six Americans and three British citizens -- and the remains of Col. William R. Higgins and William F. Buckley were released by lranian-supported Hizballah members in Lebanon. At year's end, U.N. special negotiator Giandomenico Picco continued his efforts to secure the release of two German aid workers held in Lebanon and to negotiate an exchange of Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners for missing Israeli servicemen in Lebanon.

Despite the decline in international incidents undertaken by Middle Eastern groups, domestic terrorism continued in Israel, the occupied territories, and Lebanon. The attacks appeared to be carried out by rejectionist groups and coincided with positive developments in the Middle East peace process. Internecine conflicts within and between Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist groups once again added to the violence.

Iran's success in building closer ties to Palestinian terrorist groups (see a detailed discussion in the section on state-sponsored terrorism) poses a potential threat to international peace and security. Iran hosted a conference in October on the Palestinian problem, which generated a large amount of rhetorical protest against the Middle East peace talks.

A rocket attack was launched against the American Embassy in Beirut during the Madrid peace conference, and a bomb attack damaged several buildings at the American University of Beirut shortly thereafter.

Sudan

In the past year Sudan has enhanced its relations with international terrorist groups, including the Abu Nidal organization (ANO). Sudan has maintained ties to state sponsors of terrorism such as Libya and Iraq and has improved its relations with Iran. The National Islamic Front (NIF), under the leadership of Hassan al-Turabi, has intensified its domination of the government of Sudanese President General Bashir and has been the main advocate of closer relations with radical groups and their sponsors. The NIF has organized its own militia, the People's Defense Force, modeled after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. Sudan was one of the few states to support Iraq in the Persian Gulf war. Ties to Libya and Iran also were maintained, as evidenced by the visit to Sudan last June by Colonel Qadhafi and the visit last December by Iranian President Rafsanjani to Khartoum.

Terrorist and militant Moslem groups also have increased their presence in Sudan. The government reportedly has allowed terrorist groups to train on its territory and has offered Sudan as a sanctuary to terrorist organizations. In October, the Government of Tunisia recalled its Ambassador from Khartoum to protest Sudanese renewal of a diplomatic passport for the leader of Tunisia's An Nahda party, a group that Tunisia considers a terrorist organization. Sudan also played host to members of radical groups, such as the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), and allowed them to hold public meetings in Sudan.

Algeria

Algeria has condemned international terrorism but considers some acts of violence by movements of national liberation to be legitimate. As an expression of this position, Algeria has refused to sign numerous international agreements intended to counter acts of terrorism. The Algerian Government permits a number of radical groups, including some that have been involved in terrorism, to maintain a presence in Algeria. This has occasionally led to security incidents (for example, the April 1990 attack by the Abu Nidal organization (ANO) on an ANO dissident and a bomb explosion at a PLO office in Algiers in the spring of 1991). Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) leader Abu Abbas and a few other Palestinians affiliated with terrorist organizations attended the September 1991 meeting of the Palestine National Council in Algiers, but the Algerian Government made it clear that it would not tolerate terrorist activities on its territory.

In March a lone armed hijacker took over an Air Algerie flight on the ground in Algiers, holding its 44 passengers and six crew members hostage. The hostages were released unharmed a few hours later. In October an Algerian court handed down 10-year prison sentences to two men responsible for a similar hijacking in late December 1990.

Algeria was thrown into an internal political crisis in late December 1991 when Muslim fundamentalists won an overwhelming victory in the first round of National Assembly elections and were poised to win the second round and gain a majority in the Assembly. Since President Bendjedid's resignation, the suspension of the second round of elections, and the crackdown on the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) by the military, there has been a serious upsurge in violent clashes between Islamist elements and the security forces.

Egypt

There were no terrorist attacks against Americans or U.S. interests in Egypt in 1991, despite concerns of such attacks in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

U.S. and Egyptian security services cooperated closely on security and antiterrorism matters. During the Persian Gulf war, Egyptian security forces reported several apparent terrorist threats against U.S. interests in Egypt. Egyptian security agents arrested a number of individuals suspected of planning terrorist acts against Egyptian or Western targets.

In early September, Egyptian authorities arrested armed agents of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who had entered Egypt with the intention of committing terrorist acts. In November, Israeli security forces intercepted four armed Palestinians who had entered the Israeli Negev from the Sinai. It is quite likely that these terrorists entered Egypt from a third country with the intention of infiltrating into Israel for future terrorist attacks. There are unconfirmed reports that two bodies found on a Gaza beach in December were terrorists who drowned while attempting an attack that may have been launched from Egyptian territory.

The radical Islamic group Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyaa is believed responsible for a number of armed robberies of local Egyptian merchants in 1991 but has conducted no major terrorist incident since the October 1990 assassination of assembly speaker al-Mahgoub. This group seeks the violent overthrow of the Government of Egypt but is not known to have attacked U.S. or other Western targets. More important, it receives support from Iran and has established networks with several counterparts in the Arab world and elsewhere.

Israel and the Occupied Territories There were numerous attacks and attempted attacks in Israel and the occupied territories in connection with the Palestinian intifadah and the Arab-Israeli conflict, several of which coincided with key developments in the Middle East peace process.

Many small bombs exploded or were discovered and defused by Israeli authorities in the course of the year. There were several firebomb or arson attacks on coalition interests in the occupied territories early in the year, probably in reaction to the Persian Gulf war. On 12 April, a bomb exploded in East Jerusalem at the Damascus Gate just before a visit to Israel by Secretary of State Baker. In a similar incident on 16 September, two people were injured when a bomb exploded at an outdoor market in Beersheba.

Stabbing incidents in Israel and on the West Bank occurred throughout 1991. While some of the attacks were probably carried out by organized groups, others appeared to be the work of lone individuals. On 18 May, an apparent Islamic zealot stabbed and wounded three Israelis in West Jerusalem; a faction of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claimed responsibility. Several European tourists were also the victims of stabbings.

On 7 July, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for shooting and seriously wounding an Israeli who was transporting Palestinian workers to Israel from the Gaza Strip. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) claimed responsibility for a similar attack the following day, also in Gaza.

On 28 October, just days before the opening of the Madrid peace conference, gunmen opened fire on a busload of Israeli settlers on the West Bank north of Jerusalem. Two Israelis were killed and at least six wounded, including five children. Both the PFLP and a PIJ faction claimed responsibility.

On numerous occasions in 1991, Jewish settlers in the occupied territories attacked Palestinian civilians and property, often in response to Palestinian attacks. In late October, the son of slain Jewish extremist leader Rabbi Meir Kahane publicly threatened to "blow up" the Madrid peace conference. He was later arrested in Madrid along with two associates while distributing leaflets critical of Israel's participation in the conference. Slogans from Kahane's group Kach were found painted on the walls of the American Cultural Center in Jerusalem after a fire-bombing there on 28 October.

Israeli security forces intercepted over 20 attempted guerrilla infiltrations into Israel from Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt in 1991. Several of the attempted cross-border attacks were conducted by Lebanese groups and Palestinian fighters from factions both within and outside the PLO. Others appear to be the work of disgruntled individuals acting alone or with a few colleagues but with no discernible ties to any known terrorist group. In most cases, the infiltrators failed to penetrate the Israeli border, and the precise targets of the attacks were not clear.

In late January, Palestinians fired several rockets over a three-day period at Israel from Lebanon. The rockets landed in the Israeli-controlled south Lebanon security zone. PLO forces are suspected of perpetrating these rocket attacks in order to show support for Iraq.

On 13 September, a Swedish officer with the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) in south Lebanon was killed and five other officers wounded in a gun battle between Israeli troops and their Lebanese allies and a group of Palestinian guerrillas attempting to infiltrate Israel by sea. The Palestinians landed in small boats in south Lebanon and took the UNIFIL officers hostage after failing to reach Israel, where they apparently intended to conduct a terrorist attack. One of the captured guerrillas admitted he was a member of Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO.

On 11 November, four heavily armed Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the Negev desert as they attempted to infiltrate Israel from Egypt.

The Lebanese Shia group Hizballah conducted several dozen attacks on Israeli soldiers in Israel's self-proclaimed security zone in south Lebanon, which continued to be the site of numerous incidents.

Israel takes a strong stand against terrorism and terrorist state sponsors. The Israeli Government has made fighting terrorism a high priority and devotes a considerable proportion of its internal and external security resources to this effort. Israeli police and military forces are involved in planning and training to meet the terrorist threat.

Israeli counterterrorist efforts continue to target countries aiding, harboring, or failing to inhibit terrorists. Israeli military forces have launched preemptive and retaliatory airstrikes against suspected terrorist installations in neighboring Lebanon and have occasionally detained Lebanese nationals in an attempt to thwart attacks. At year's end, Israel continued to hold outside the legal process Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid, a Hizballah cleric from south Lebanon whom Israeli forces abducted in July 1989, apparently in an effort to exchange him for Israeli military personnel held by Lebanese and other groups.

Israel uses curfews and other restrictive measures to control violence in the occupied territories. The West Bank and Gaza Strip were sealed off from Israel on several occasions in 1991 when the threat was considered to be especially high, most notably during the Gulf war and during sessions of the Middle East peace talks. Israel has also responded to violent incidents by deporting to neighboring countries Palestinian activists who are deemed to be security risks or accused of anti-Israeli offenses. The United States strongly opposes deportations as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israeli courts generally hand down strict prison sentences to those convicted of terrorist attacks. In May, a former member of the 15 May Organization and the Hawari Special Operations Group was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a failed attempt to blow up an El Al airliner in 1984. Mahmud Atta, a member of the Abu Nidal organization who was extradited to Israel from the United States in 1990, was sentenced to life in prison in October for a machinegun attack on an Israeli bus on the West Bank in 1986. Later that month, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, founder of the Palestinian fundamentalist group Hamas, received a life sentence plus 15 years after admitting to Israeli charges, including plotting the murder of two off-duty Israeli soldiers.

Militant Jewish extremist Rabbi Moshe Levinger was sentenced in January to four months in prison for assaulting a Palestinian family in Hebron. The sentence was later reduced, for good behavior. In June an Israeli court approved the extradition to the United States of an American-born Israeli couple suspected of sending a letter bomb that killed an American woman in California in 1980. One of the two is also a suspect in the murder of an Arab-American activist in 1985. The extradition case was appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court in December.

The Palestinian Uprising Violence associated with the Palestinian intifadah, which began in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in December 1987, continued in 1991, though at a significantly reduced level. Tight Israeli security restrictions imposed during the Persian Gulf war, and the adverse economic consequences for the local population caused by prolonged strikes, probably account for the change. In the latter part of the year, some Palestinian leaders appeared to be trying to shift the uprising toward less violent forms of protest in response to the Middle East peace negotiations.

Nonetheless, clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops and settlers resulted in the deaths of at least 101 Palestinians and 12 Israelis in 1991. Although there were far fewer mass demonstrations by Palestinian protestors, there were many vicious personal attacks by individuals or small groups, often involving the use of firearms, over the course of the year. Several of the attacks appeared to involve Islamic extremist groups opposed to any compromise with Israel. Furthermore, at least 140 Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians in 1991, once again outstripping the number of Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces. Most of the victims of intra-Palestinian violence were suspected of being informers for the Israeli authorities.

The intifadah as a whole is primarily a civil insurrection that contains elements of terrorism in specific instances. Acts of intifadah violence frequently go unclaimed and often are not clearly tied to specific goals and objectives or organized terrorist groups. In the absence of an identifiable perpetrator or motive, it is difficult to apply our working definition of terrorism to most intifadah incidents.

Jordan Despite additional security measures provided by Jordanian authorities, tensions stemming from the Persian Gulf war led to a spate of attacks in early 1991 against business and diplomatic targets associated with countries taking part in the coalition against Iraq. Most such incidents were minor attacks apparently intended to cause property damage rather than casualties.

At least some of the attacks were apparently the work of a group of Islamic extremists known as Muhammad's Army. In July, Jordanian authorities arrested dozens of persons suspected of belonging to the group, 18 of whom went on trial in October. In open court, the defendants admitted to conducting a series of attacks on Jordanian and Western interests, including two car bombings that seriously wounded the daughter of a local cleric in January and a Jordanian intelligence officer in July. They also confessed to planning attacks against U.S. and other Western diplomatic facilities. Eight defendants, including two in absentia, were found guilty and sentenced to death. In December King Hussein commuted the death sentences for six defendants to varying prison terms; he let stay the death sentences on the two tried in absentia.

A variety of Palestinian factions maintain a presence in Jordan, including elements of the PLO and more radical Islamic fundamentalist groups like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Prominent members of the PIJ in Jordan publicly threatened attacks on U.S. interests during the Gulf war.

There were a number of armed infiltration attempts across the Jordanian boundary with Israel in 1991. Some, such as an 8 February attack claimed by Muhammad's Army, appeared to have been carried out by an organized group; others were most likely conducted by zealous individuals with no connection to any known political organization. One Israeli farmer was killed and three others wounded in a cross-border attack in April. A decline in cross-border raids in the latter half of the year may have been because of Jordan's efforts to enforce tighter border security.

The Jordanian Government considers itself to have been a victim of terrorism over the years and has cooperated in international terrorism efforts. In late 1991 Jordan sought the extradition from Sweden of a Palestinian accused of the 1971 murder of Jordanian Prime Minister Wafsi Tell. Jordanian security services are alert to attempted terrorist acts and have detained members of groups, such as the PIJ, who have been accused of inciting violence.

Kuwait Kuwait has historically been a target of international terrorism and has had to cope with hijackings, bombings, and assassination attempts. It has been aggressive in bringing terrorists to justice. Before the 2 August 1990 Iraqi invasion, and consistent with its no concessions policy on terrorism, the Amir resisted pressure to pardon members of the pro-Iranian fundamentalist Dawa terrorist group imprisoned in Kuwait for a series of 1983 bombing attacks against U.S., French, and Kuwaiti interests. The Dawa terrorists either escaped or were freed during the Iraqi occupation.

During 1991 there were no significant acts of domestic terrorism in Kuwait. The government closed down offices of the PLO and all other Palestinian groups, including some associated with terrorism. The Palestinian population in Kuwait also shrunk during the Persian Gulf war and its aftermath from approximately 350,000 to about 40,000, thus severely reducing the ability of these groups to operate in Kuwait.

Lebanon The number of international terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 1991 rose to a high of 32, up from 10 in 1990 and 16 in 1989. Much of the increase reflected a low-level bombing campaign against foreign targets, largely French-owned banks, during the Persian Gulf war. These incidents caused only minor damage and few casualties. There also were a number of domestic terrorist incidents related to struggles between various Lebanese factions.

During much of 1991, the central government extended its control, particularly over a significant portion of the area from Beirut north to Tripoli. It disarmed several militias and began to expand its control into south Lebanon. The Lebanese Government, however, has been unable to fully implement the Taif Accords, which provide for the extension of its authority nationwide. It has yet to move into the Bekaa Valley or east Lebanon or to expand into portions of the south dominated by Hizballah or the South Lebanon Army (SLA).

Syria, however, continues to maintain a sizable military presence in Lebanon, exercising control over portions of the north and the east. Israel and its client Lebanese militia, the SLA, control a region along the Israeli border.

Terrorism continues to plague Lebanon, and the year saw many violent attacks. Eight people died in a 20 March car bombing believed to have been an attempt on the life of the Defense Minister, the first such incident since the central government's assumption of authority in Beirut. The year closed with a 30 December Beirut car-bombing incident in which at least 30 were reported killed and 120 injured. The year also saw a rocket attack on 29 October on the U.S. Embassy and the 8 November bombing that destroyed buildings of the American University of Beirut. Both attacks are believed to have been protests against the opening of the Middle East peace talks. A French aid worker was abducted on 8 August to protest the release of British hostage John McCarthy. The Frenchman was freed three days later after Syrian troops and Lebanese armed forces exerted pressure on Hizballah strongholds in Beirut.

Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya continued to provide varying degrees of financial, military, and logistic support to radical groups engaging in terrorism in Lebanon. Several international groups including radical Palestinians, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Abu Nidal organization (ANO), and Abu Musa, as well as non-Palestinian groups, such as the Japanese Red Army (JRA), the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), Turkey's Revolutionary Left (Dev Sol), and the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), maintain training facilities in Lebanon, chiefly in the Syrian-garrisoned Bekaa Valley.

The Lebanese Government frequently has condemned terrorist acts and has repeatedly called for the release of foreign hostages but has been unable to rein in terrorists.

One bright spot over the past year was the winding down of the hostage problem in Lebanon. Iranian-backed elements of Hizballah freed six American and three British hostages and returned the remains of U.S. hostages Col. William Higgins and William Buckley at the end of 1991 following a UN-orchestrated process involving frequent contact with Iran, Syria, the Lebanese Shia, Israel, and others. In return, many Lebanese held by Israel and the SLA were freed, but several hundred remain in captivity. Israel received through the UN conclusive information from Hizballah that two of its six missing soldiers were dead. The remains of another Israeli soldier killed in fighting in Lebanon in the mid-1980s were returned by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

At the end of 1991, two German relief workers who are also held by Hizballah -- Heinrich Struebig and Thomas Kemptner -- remained in captivity; their release has been linked to freedom for two Lebanese terrorists jailed in Germany. There had also not yet been a full accounting of all those held hostage who may have died while in captivity.

Saudi Arabia The defining event concerning terrorism in Saudi Arabia in 1991 was Operation Desert Storm and its aftermath. Throughout the Desert Shield/Desert Storm period, Saudi Arabia shared information on possible terrorist acts with other governments and made every effort to assist the international community in countering and preventing terrorism. The Saudi Government expelled Iraqi diplomats and attaches and closed its borders with Jordan and Yemen, countries it viewed as aligned with Iraq. It also tightened visa requirements for foreign workers from countries opposing the international coalition. Many foreign workers were expelled from Saudi Arabia, and others were transferred or fired from sensitive government positions. Saudi Arabia also employed additional security measures on Saudia Airline flights.

Despite the huge U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, there was only one act of terrorism directed against U.S. forces. On 3 February 1991, two U.S. airmen and a Saudi guard were wounded in an attack on a military bus in Jeddah. Four Palestinians (one a naturalized Saudi) and two Yemenis were arrested. The incident is still under investigation, and the four Palestinians remain in custody.

The Saudi Government is still closely following the investigation of the February 1990 killing of three Saudi diplomats in Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai Government has publicly blamed a non-Thai terrorist no longer in Thailand.

Thanks to the intensive but largely unobtrusive security precautions taken by Saudi security forces, the annual Mecca pilgrimage (hajj) passed without incident.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly spoken out and voted against terrorist acts in international fora. It has raised terrorism issues in bilateral discussion with governments it considers to be state sponsors of terrorism. Saudi Arabia decries acts of terrorism allegedly committed in the name of the Palestinian cause; it considers this cause to be a legitimate movement of national liberation and resistance to military occupation. Saudi Arabia suspended financial and political support for the PLO in late 1990 because of that group's strong pro-Iraqi stance but then reportedly resumed transfer to the PLO of revenue from a tax on Palestinians working in the kingdom in late 1991.

Yemen The Republic of Yemen (ROY) is committed to cutting all ties to terrorist groups. A few groups, however, continue to maintain a presence in ROY territory, typically with the assistance of ROY officials who were previous officials of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). The PDRY was on the U.S. Government's list of state sponsors of terrorism until its unification with the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) to form the ROY in 1990.

The ROY is reportedly narrowing criteria and tightening procedures for issuing passports to non-Yemenis, including Palestinians, and has denied press reports that international terrorist Carlos was granted refuge in Yemen.

During the past year several incidents of international terrorism occurred in Yemeni territory, especially during the Persian Gulf war when Yemen was a strong supporter of Iraq. In January, during the Gulf crisis, the embassies of the U.S., Turkey, and Japan were attacked by unknown persons. The ROY condemned these attacks and increased protection of citizens and property of coalition member countries. In October unknown persons attacked the German and U.S. Embassies in what was probably part of a wave of attacks that also included ROY government targets.

International Organizations United Nations The United Nations was involved in two successful efforts concerning terrorism in 1991. The General Assembly adopted Resolution 451 on 9 December 1991 that unanimously reaffirmed the commitment of all nations to work together to counter terrorism.

Former United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar and his special representative Giandomenico Picco were instrumental in securing the release of all the remaining American and British hostages during 1991 and the return of the remains of two Americans -- Col. William "Rich" Higgins and William Buckley -- who died while in captivity. Colonel Higgins, it must be noted, was kidnapped and murdered while serving with a UN peacekeeping group in South Lebanon.

On 13 September 1991, in Lebanon near the Israeli border, a United Nations peacekeeping soldier was killed and five other soldiers were wounded after being taken hostage during a botched terrorist raid on Israel by Palestinians. The death and injuries occurred as negotiations were in progress to free the hostages. Israeli military units became involved. The United Nations protested to the Palestine Liberation Organization and to the Israeli Government about this incident.

International Civil Aviation Organization A Diplomatic Conference on Air Law was held under ICAO's auspices in Montreal from 12 February to 1 March 1991, at which the United States and 40 other nations joined together to sign in Montreal an international convention on The Marking of Plastic Explosives for Detection. The signing of this convention capped a two-year effort in the aftermath of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 to develop an international convention requiring the introduction of certain marking chemicals into plastic explosives at the time of manufacture in order to improve their preblast detection by various existing technologies.

Advice and consent by the U.S. Senate to this convention will be sought in 1993, following the completion of certain required technical studies that are currently under way. The technical assessments will help ensure that the marking chemicals required by the convention do not have any adverse effects on the safety and health of those involved in the manufacture or use of marked plastic explosives, that the shelf life of marked explosives is sufficient for purposes of the convention, and that the properties and performance of the explosives are not adversely affected by the introduction of the required marking agents.

Foreign Political Hostages Kidnapped in Lebanon: 1991 Status Report Name/Nationality/Profession Date/Place Kidnapped Kidnapping Claimed by Status

William Buckley, United States, CIA Officer 16 March 1984 West Beirut Islamic Jihad Remains recovered 27 December and flown to United States for burial at Arlington National Cemetery

Terry Anderson, United States, AP Middle East Bureau Chief, journalist 16 March 1985 West Beirut Islamic Jihad Released 4 December

Alec Collett, United Kingdom, journalist, UNRWA 26 March 1985 West Beirut Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims Reported to have been killed in 1986, but information is inconclusive

Thomas Sutherland, United States, American University of Beirut (AUB), educator 9 June 1985 West Beirut Islamic Jihad Released 18 November

Alberto Molinari, Italy, businessman 11 September 1985 West Beirut No claim Presumed dead, but evidence not conclusive

John McCarthy, United Kingdom, TV journalist 17 April 1986 West Beirut Arab commando cells Released 8 August

Joseph Cicippio, United States, AUB comptroller 12 September 1986 West Beirut Revolutionary Justice Organization Released 2 December

Edward Tracy, United States, writer 21 October 1986 West Beirut Revolutionary Justice Organization Released 11 August

Terry Waite, United Kingdom, Church of England, envoy 20 January 1987 West Beirut No claim Released 18 November

Alann Steen, United States, BUC, educator 24 January 1987 West Beirut Oppressed of the Earth and Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine Released 3 December

Jesse Turner, United States, BUC, educator 24 January 1987 West Beirut As above Released 22 October

William Richard Higgins, United States, Col. Marine Corps 17 February 1988 Near Tyre Islamic Revolutionary Brigades and Organization of the Oppressed on Earth Remains recovered 22 December and flown to United States for burial at Quantico National Cemetery

Heinrich Struebig, Germany, relief worker 16 May 1989 Lebanon No claim Still held

Thomas Kemptner, Germany, relief worker 16 May 1989 Lebanon No claim Still held

Jack Mann, United Kingdom, retired 6 October 1989 Sidon Uncertain Released 24 September

Jerome Leyraud, France, relief worker 8 August 1991 Beirut No claim: probably Hizballah

Released 11 August