[Deathwatch] Abu Nidal, Palestinian terror leader, ~65

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

- Note, the age is approximately 65.  Abu Nidal was first reported dead
and burried in November, 1984, but this was later proven to be a fqaked
death.

Palestinian terror leader Abu Nidal found dead, Palestinians say 
Wed Aug 21, 4:04 PM ET
By HADEEL WAHDAN, Associated Press Writer 

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Abu Nidal, the Palestinian renegade whose name
became a byword for international terrorism, was found dead in his
Baghdad apartment, Palestinian officials said Monday. 

Abu Nidal's body was found three days ago with gunshot wounds, said the
two senior Palestinian officials in Ramallah, who spoke on condition of
anonymity. They said the reports they received from Baghdad suggested
Abu Nidal had committed suicide, but did not address the question of
how that was possible when there was more than one bullet wound. 

His death was announced by his rivals — in the mid-1970s, Abu Nidal
accused Yasser Arafat ( news - web sites)'s Palestinian Liberation
Organization of softening in the struggle and made the PLO his prime
target. His gunmen picked off Arafat's most trusted lieutenants. 

In Baghdad, the deputy Palestinian ambassador, Nejah Abdul-Rahman, said
he had no information regarding what he described as rumors of Abu
Nidal's death. 

Abu Nidal spokesman Ghanem Saleh, speaking in Lebanon, said he had only
heard the report from news media and had no immediate comment. 

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Abu Nidal's brother said he had no
information to indicate his brother had died in Baghdad — but added he
had not heard from him in 38 years. Mohammed al-Banna, a fruit and
vegetable merchant, told APTN it was not the first time rumors have
circulated concerning the death of his brother, whose real name is
Sabri al-Banna. 

Abu Nidal has been one of the key figure in Middle East terror for the
past quarter century and has often changed sides. The U.S. State
Department once termed his group "the most dangerous terrorist
organization in existence." But Monday, an Israeli analyst said he had
been sidelined recently. 

"In the last few years he lived in Baghdad with his men, it could
possible have been a one-man show," said Ephraim Inbar, an expert on
terrorism at the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry refused comment, saying it was an internal
Palestinian matter. 

In 1982, Abu Nidal gunmen shot and critically wounded Israel's
ambassador in London. Israel blamed Arafat's PLO and launched a huge
invasion of Lebanon, driving Arafat and his forces out of the country. 


Abu Nidal was born in Jaffa in 1937 when the area was part of
British-governed Palestine. The family later moved to Nablus, and he
left the area to organize opposition to the establishment of Israel. 

The shadowy guerrilla masterminded the killings of both Jews and fellow
Palestinians who opposed him. He flitted from one lair to another to
avoid capture and switched backers from Iraq to Syria to Libya over the
years, frequently using disguises, reportedly even plastic surgery. 

He is reported to run an international extortion racket running into
millions of dollars, shaking down governments with threats of attacks.
He has been accused of dealing in arms and of being a hit man for his
various Arab backers. 

The chain-smoking schoolteacher-turned-terrorist has struck targets
from Paris to Pakistan. His followers bombed American airliners, mowed
down travelers in airports, machine-gunned sidewalk cafes and
synagogues and blew up hotels. His most notorious — but not most fatal
— attacks were twin assaults on the Israeli airline El Al's ticket
counters at Rome and Vienna airports on Dec. 27, 1985. Eighteen people
were killed and 120 wounded.