1981 Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut
| Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut | |
|---|---|
| Part of Al-Dawa[1] |
On December 15, 1981, the Iraqi
The attack is considered by some to be the second modern suicide bombing, preceded by the 1927
Background
Emboldened by the success of the 1979
The remaining al-Dawa leadership fled to Iran and the group became an "effective proxy" for the Iranian government against Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, which broke out in September 1980.[3]
Bombing
On December 15, 1981, a car filled with approximately 100 kilograms of explosives was driven into Iraq's embassy building in Beirut by a suicide bomber. The ensuing explosion devastated the embassy, killed 61 people, including the Iraq ambassador, Abdul Razzak Lafta, and injured more than 100 others.[1][4] Balqis al-Rawi, the Iraqi wife of Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani, who worked for the embassy's cultural section, was also killed in the attack.[5]
Impact
The attack, which presaged the 1983 United States embassy bombing and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, is considered by some to be the first modern suicide bombing,[2][6][7] though others nominate earlier attacks.[8][9]
Alternative attribution
Some sources attribute the bombing to Imad Mughniyeh instead. [10]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-61251-097-2.
- ^ a b c Abedin, Mahan (June 2003). "Dossier: Hezb al-Daawa al-Islamiyya". Middle East Intelligence Bulletin. Archived from the original on July 15, 2003.
- ^ Gordon, Michael R.; Trainor, Bernard E. (2012). The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. Random House. p. 709.
- ISBN 978-0-19-518102-9.
- ^ "Syrian Poet Nizar Qabbani Dies". Associated Press News. 30 April 1998.
- ISBN 978-0-203-96491-0.
- ISBN 978-1-61499-272-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4398-7131-7.
- ISBN 978-0-203-83201-1.
- ^ Abdul-Hussain, Hussain (26 August 2023). "'Ghosts of Beirut' gets Hezbollah's most wanted all wrong". Asia Times.