| 1981 Vienna synagogue attack | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of 1981 Vienna synagogue attack | |
| Location | 48°12′38″N16°22′37″E / 48.21056°N 16.37694°E /48.21056; 16.37694 Innere Stadt, Vienna, Austria |
| Date | 29 August 1981 (1981-08-29) 20:00 (UTC+01:00) |
| Target | Civilians |
Attack type | Mass shooting, grenade attack |
| Weapons | |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 18 |
| Perpetrators | Marwan Hasan and Hesham Mohammed Rajeh |
| Motive | Palestinian nationalism |
The1981 Vienna synagogue attack was a terror attack that occurred 29 August 1981. The incident took place in theStadttempel ofVienna, Austria carried out by two terrorists of theAbu Nidal Organization.[2]
The mass shooting and grenade attack killed two people and wounded 18 others attending aBar mitzvah service at theStadttempel in Vienna on 29 August 1981.[3] Two terrorists entered the 155-year-oldIsraelite Temple in the centralVienna area of Seitenstettengasse, posing asJews. The terrorists then came into a fire exchange with the two already woundedpolicemen.[4]
A bodyguard of a localJewish business owner arrived quickly at thesynagogue and pointed his gun directly at one of the perpetrators, shooting him and subdued the other. Police cordoned off the entire area and began a house to house search for possible accomplices and hidden bombs.[5]
According to early reports, three terrorists had been involved in the attack. The Austrian police later said this was not correct and that the only two who had stormed thesynagogue were involved. The police were detaining a third person who was arrested in aVienna apartment shortly after the attack, but no details were available regarding the suspect. Twocivilians, a 25-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were shot and killed in the attack, and several others were critically wounded, amongst two of thepolicemen.[4]
In connection with the attack, the twoPalestinian assailants, Marwan Hasan, 25 years old, ofJordan, and Hesham Mohammed Rajeh, 21, born in Iraq, were convicted of terrorist charges and attempted murder. Rajeh was also indicted for the 1 May murder ofHeinz Nittel, head of the Austrian-Israel Society. Both men received life sentences.[3]
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