Achille Lauro hijacking
| Achille Lauro hijacking | |
|---|---|
The Achille Lauro ca. 1987
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| Location | MS Achille Lauro off the Egyptian coast |
| Date | 7 October 1985- 10 October 1985 |
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Attack type
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Hijacking and hostage crisis |
| Weapons | Firearms and hand grenades |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Perpetrators | Palestine Liberation Front |
| Motive | Publicity of Palestinian issues and release of Palestinian prisoners |
On October 7, 1985, four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) hijacked the Italian MS Achille Lauro liner off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel. The hijacking was organized by Muhammad Zaidan, leader of the PLF. A 69-year-old Jewish American man in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, was murdered by the hijackers and thrown overboard.
Throughout the 1980s, the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) and other members of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) launched attacks on both civilian and military targets in the north of Israel, across the Lebanese border. In response to one such attack by the PLO's Force 17 on an Israeli yacht, the PLO headquarters in Tunis were bombed by the Israeli Air Force (Operation Wooden Leg) on October 1, 1985. The headquarters were completely destroyed in this attack, and 60 PLO members were killed. The hijacking of Achille Lauro was thought to have been an act of retaliation for the bombing. However, this claim was disputed in 2013 by Zaidan's widow, Reem al-Nimer. According to al-Nimer, the hijacking had been planned 11 months in advance, and the hijackers had already been on two 'dummy' training runs on Achille Lauro. The plan was to open fire on Israeli soldiers when the ship reached Ashdod – a suicide mission.
On October 7, 1985, four PLF militants hijacked Achille Lauro off Egypt. The hijackers had been surprised by a crew member and acted prematurely. Holding the passengers and crew hostage, they directed the vessel to sail to Tartus, Syria, and demanded the release of 50 Palestinians then in Israeli prisons.
As many of the hostages were American tourists, U.S. President Ronald Reagan deployed the Navy's SEAL Team Six and Delta Force to stand by and prepare for a possible rescue attempt to free the vessel from the hijackers.
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