1985 Beirut car bombings
This article or section possibly contains synthesis of material which does not verifiably mention or relate to the main topic. (March 2011) |
March 1985 Beirut car bombing | |
---|---|
Part of Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah | |
Attack type | Car bombing, attempted assassination |
Deaths | 80[1] |
Injured | ~200 |
Perpetrator | CIA linked Lebanese counter-terrorism unit[2] |
On 8 March 1985, a car bomb exploded between 9[3] and 45 metres[4] from the house of Shia cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in Beirut, Lebanon, in a failed assassination attempt by a Lebanese counter-terrorism unit linked to the Central Intelligence Agency.[2] The bombing killed 80 people and injured 200, almost all civilians.[1][3]
Beirut experienced three other deadly car bombs in following months on 22 May, 14 August and 18 August 1985.[5]
The blast
The bomb explosion, estimated to have been equivalent to 200 kg (440 lbs) of
While several of Fadlallah's bodyguards were killed in the attack, the cleric escaped injury as he was attending Friday prayers at a nearby mosque.[6]
Locals fired guns in the air, following the blast, trying to clear the roads to allow ambulances to pass.[7] A banner was strung across the blast site by locals, reading "Made in USA."[8]
Historical context
In 1976,
The Beirut car bombing occurred "within the continuously evolving framework of an American 'preemption' counterterror program".
Responsibility
In June 1985, the
In the aftermath of the bombing, US officials cancelled its Beirut based counterterrorism operation, that trained Lebenese counterterrorism units, because of indirect links between the CIA and the bombing.[1][2]
In 1987, reporter
The U.S.
Several Lebanese politicians, such as
Aftermath
A car bomb on 22 May killed 48 people. Another on 14 August killed 15 people, and a bomb on 18 August exploded in a Christian suburb of East Beirut causing the death of 50 people. It was one of the worst explosions to take place in the city's east, which was relatively calm compared to the west.[5]
A former CIA operative maintains that the failed 1985 attempt tarnished the CIA's reputation.[19]
In Literature
The car bombing is described in Ken Follet's 2014 historical novel "Edge of Eternity".
See also
- Hezbollah
- Internal Security Forces
- Lebanese Army
- Lebanese Civil War
- Lebanese Forces – Executive Command
- South Lebanon Army
- Mountain War (Lebanon)
- Young Men (Lebanon)
References
- ^ a b c d Babcock, Charles R.; Woodward, Bob (23 June 1985). "CIA Denies Part in Bombing". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d "C.I.A. Linked to Beirut Bomb". The New York Times. Associated Press. 12 May 1985. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "60 Killed by Beirut Car Bomb". The Guardian. 9 March 1985. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ Davis, Mike (18 April 2006). "A History of the Car Bomb (Part 2): Car Bombs with Wings". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 19 April 2006.
- ^ a b "Car Bomb Kills 50 in Christian Area near East Beirut". The New York Times. Associated Press. 18 August 1985. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ a b Smith, William E. (27 May 1985). "Lebanon Blackmail in Beirut". Time. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
- ^ "1985: Beirut Car Bomb Kills Dozens". BBC News. n.d. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ Bovard, James (1 June 2004). "Terrorism Debacles in the Reagan Administration". The Future of Freedom Foundation. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ )
- ^ ISBN 0-8330-3028-0.
- ISBN 978-0-913875-75-9.
- ^ Zenko, Micah (9 October 2012). "Don't Just 'Do Something'". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Zoglin, Richard (12 October 1987). "Did a Dead Man Tell No Tales?". Time. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ Cochrane, Paul (5 July 2004). "Will U.S. Foreign Policy Increase Terrorism?". Worldpress.org. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- ^ "Terrorist Attacks on Americans, 1979–1988". PBS. n.d. Retrieved 23 January 2007.
- ^ Woodward, Bob (September 2001). "Interview: Bob Woodward". PBS (Interview). Retrieved 10 October 2012.
- ^ Hijazi, Ihsan A. (9 March 1985). "Car Bomb Kills 62 Outside Beirut near Home of a Top Shiite Cleric". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ Boustany, Nora (6 March 1988). "Beirut Bomb's Legacy Suspicion and Tears". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ Entous, Adam; Osnos, Evan (3 February 2020). "Qassem Suleimani and How Nations Decide to Kill". The New Yorker. Retrieved 4 February 2020.