Abu Nidal

Abu Nidal in the 70s, in one of only a handful of photographs of him that exist. 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 founder of Fatah - the Revolutionary Council ( Fatah al-Qiyadah al-Thawriyyah ), 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 widely regarded as the world's most ruthless terrorist. Part of the largely secular, leftwing 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. [1] 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. [2] 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." [3]

Abu Nidal (Arabic: أبو نضال) (May 1937 – August 16, 2002), born Sabri Khalil al-Banna (Arabic: صبري خليل البنا), was the founder of Fatah–The Revolutionary Council (Arabic: فتح المجلس الثوري), a militant Palestinian group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). At the height of his power in the 1970s and 1980s, Abu Nidal, or "father of [the] struggle," was widely regarded as the most ruthless of the Palestinian political leaders. He told Der Spiegel in a rare interview in 1985: "I am the evil spirit which moves around only at night causing ... nightmares." 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, Abu Nidal is believed to have ordered attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring over 900 people. The group's most notorious attacks were on the El Al ticket counters at Rome and Vienna airports in December 1985, when Arab gunmen high on amphetamines opened fire on passengers in simultaneous shootings, 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." Abu Nidal died of between one and four gunshot wounds in Baghdad in August 2002. Palestinian sources believe he was killed on the orders of Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqi government insisted he had committed suicide. The Guardian wrote on the news of his death: "He was the patriot turned psychopath. He served only himself, only the warped personal drives that pushed him into hideous crime. Regarding his date of birth, The Guardian has written that he was born in 1939; The Times says 1940; the Truman Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says 1934. Issam Sartawi told Yossi Melman it was 1936. Melman concludes it was 1937. There is also disagreement about his name. The Daily Telegraph has written that he was Hasan Sabri al-Banna; the Middle East International has said he was Muhammad Sabri al-Banna. According to Stewart Steven, who has written about the Mossad , he was Sabri Khalil al-Banna or Mazan Sabri al-Banna. The name Khalil comes from his father; it is an Arab tradition that the father's name be added to the son's. He was also known as Amin al-Sirr and Sabri Khalil Abd Al Qadir. See, for example: MacAskill, Ewen and Nelsson, Richard. "Mystery death of Abu Nidal, once the world's most wanted terrorist" , The Guardian , August 20, 2002. "A matter of ethics for cloak-and-dagger set" , The Christian Science Monitor , October 5, 2001.

Sabri Khalil al-Banna ( Arabic : صبري خليل البنا, May 1937 – 16 August 2002), known as Abu Nidal (أبو نضال), was the founder of Fatah – The Revolutionary Council (فتح المجلس الثوري), a militant Palestinian splinter group commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). At the height of its power in the 1970s and 1980s, the ANO was widely regarded as the most ruthless of the Palestinian groups. Abu Nidal ("father of struggle") formed the ANO in October 1974 after a split from Yasser Arafat 's Fatah faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Acting as a freelance contractor, Abu Nidal is believed to have ordered attacks in 20 countries, killing over 300 and injuring over 650. The group's operations included the Rome and Vienna airport attacks on 27 December 1985, when gunmen opened fire on passengers in simultaneous shootings at El Al ticket counters, killing 20. Patrick Seale , Abu Nidal's biographer, wrote of the shootings that their "random cruelty marked them as typical Abu Nidal operations." Abu Nidal died after a shooting in his Baghdad apartment in August 2002. Palestinian sources believed he was killed on the orders of Saddam Hussein , but Iraqi officials insisted he had committed suicide during an interrogation. David Hirst wrote in the Guardian on the news of his death: "He was the patriot turned psychopath. He served only himself, only the warped personal drives that pushed him into hideous crime. John Kifner, "On the bloody trail of Sabri al-Banna" , The New York Times , 14 September 1986. Randal ( Washington Post ), 10 June 1990 . Brian Whitaker, "Mystery of Abu Nidal's death deepens" , The Guardian , 22 August 2002. Robert Fisk , "Abu Nidal, notorious Palestinian mercenary, 'was a US spy'" , The Independent , 25 October 2008.

Palestinian militant, founder of Fatah (1937–2002) For the Muslimgauze album, see Abu Nidal (album) . Sabri Khalil al-Banna ( ; May 1937 – 16 August 2002), known by his nom de guerre Abu Nidal , was the founder of Fatah: The Revolutionary Council ( ), a militant Palestinian splinter group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). At the height of its militancy in the 1970s and 1980s, the ANO was widely regarded as the most ruthless of the Palestinian groups. Abu Nidal ("father of struggle") formed the ANO in October 1974 after a split from Yasser Arafat 's Fatah faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Acting as a freelance contractor, Abu Nidal is believed to have ordered attacks in 20 countries, killing over 300 and injuring over 650. The group's operations included the Rome and Vienna airport attacks on 27 December 1985, when gunmen opened fire on passengers in simultaneous shootings at El Al ticket counters, killing 20. Patrick Seale , Abu Nidal's biographer, wrote of the shootings that their "random cruelty marked them as typical Abu Nidal operations". Abu Nidal died after a shooting in his Baghdad apartment in August 2002. Palestinian sources believed he was killed on the orders of Saddam Hussein , while Iraqi officials insisted he had committed suicide during an interrogation. "He was the patriot turned psychopath", David Hirst wrote in the Guardian on the news of his death. He was the ultimate mercenary." Melman, Yossi (1987) [1986]. The Global Offensive: The United States, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Making of the Post-Cold War Order . "On the bloody trail of Sabri al-Banna" , The New York Times . "Abu Nidal Battles Dissidents" , The Washington Post . "Abu Nidal", in Martha Crenshaw and John Pimlott (eds.), International Encyclopedia of Terrorism . "Biography of Abu Nidal – Sabri al-Bana", in Philip Mattar (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Palestinians (11–13), 11 . Melman 1987, 53, translates it as "father of the struggle". Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire . The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism: Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why?" , Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 97. "Mystery of Abu Nidal's death deepens" , The Guardian . "Abu Nidal, notorious Palestinian mercenary, 'was a US spy'" , The Independent . "Abu Nidal" , The Guardian .

Palestinian militant, founder of The Abu Nidal Organization For the Muslimgauze album, see Abu Nidal (album) . Sabri Khalil al-Banna ( Arabic : صبري خليل البنا ; May 1937 – 16 August 2002), known by his nom de guerre Abu Nidal ("father of struggle"), was a Palestinian militant . He was the founder of Fatah: The Revolutionary Council (Arabic: فتح المجلس الثوري ), a militant Palestinian splinter group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). Abu Nidal formed the ANO in October 1974 after splitting from Yasser Arafat 's Fatah faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Abu Nidal is believed to have ordered attacks in 20 countries, killing over 300 and injuring over 650 while acting as a freelance contractor. The group's operations included the Rome and Vienna airport attacks on 27 December 1985, when gunmen opened fire on passengers in simultaneous shootings at El Al ticket counters, killing 20. At the height of its militancy in the 1970s and 1980s, the ANO was widely regarded as the most ruthless of the Palestinian groups. Palestinian leadership long suspected that Israeli Mossad had infiltrated the ANO, with Abu Nidal himself allegedly having been on the CIA payroll. Abu Nidal died after a shooting in his Baghdad apartment in August 2002. Palestinian sources believed he was killed on the orders of Saddam Hussein , while Iraqi officials insisted he had committed suicide during an interrogation . United States Department of State . The Global Offensive: The United States, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Making of the Post-Cold War Order . The New York Times . "Abu Nidal", in Martha Crenshaw and John Pimlott (eds.), International Encyclopedia of Terrorism . The Hundred Years' War on Palestine . The Biggest Prison on Earth .