Terrorism in Lebanon refers to theacts of terrorism that have occurred in Lebanon through various phases of its history. According to theU.S. Country Reports on Terrorism in 2016 and 2017,[1] Lebanon is considered a safe haven for certain terrorist groups. Terrorist organizations operating in Lebanon includeHezbollah, Palestinian militias, and other radical Sunni Muslim organizations. The government was reported to not be in control of "all regions" of the country which includes many refugee camps and its borders withIsrael andSyria.
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Some of the deadliest terror attacks involvedAnti Western motives, which peaked during theLebanese Civil War, where militias would target diplomatic missions, namely from the United States andFrance. Hezbollah also conducted and plotted many attacks and hijackings globally under many aliases in which they targeted Jews, Americans, Europeans and theGulf states.
Lebanon has become a battleground in the broader regional proxy wars between Iran and its adversaries, including Israel and the United States. Hezbollah's actions in Syria and its support for Hamas in Gaza are part of Iran's strategy to expand its influence and counterbalance Israeli and Western interests.[2] The instability in Syria has had a significant destabilizing impact on Lebanon's security situation. Islamist groups have sought to exploit and deepen sectarian divisions in Lebanon, particularly between Sunnis and Shias. Hezbollah's involvement in the Syrian civil war on the side of the Assad regime has angered some Sunni groups prompting numerous attacks against Iranian and Hezbollah targets.
The Lebanese state defines terrorism through Article 314 of its Criminal Code, which states that "Terrorist acts are all acts intended to cause a state of terror and committed by means liable to create a public danger such as explosive devices, inflammable materials, toxic or corrosive products and infectious or microbial agents."[3] The UNSpecial Tribunal for Lebanon's Appeals Chamber has criticized this interpretation, arguing that the list in Article 314 should be viewed as illustrative rather than exhaustive.[4]
During the Lebanese Civil War, the IslamistIslamic Unification Movement (Tawheed) militiamen were responsible for several acts of violence in Tripoli against the local cells of theAlawiteADP andLCP. In October 1983, the IUM/Tawheed executed a series of terrorist attacks against the Tripoli offices of the Communist Party, targeting Party cadres and their families. In one occasion, Tawheed fighters rounded up some 52 top Communist members, forced them to renounce theiratheism and then summarily shot them, dumping the victims' bodies into theMediterranean.[5]
Fatah al-Islam is an Islamist group operating out of theNahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. It was formed in November 2006, by fighters who broke off from the pro-SyrianFatah al-Intifada, itself a splinter group of the PalestinianFatah movement, and is led by a Palestinian fugitive militant namedShaker al-Abssi.[6] The group's members have been described as militantjihadists,[7] and the group itself has been described as a terrorist movement that draws inspiration fromal-Qaeda.[6][7][8] Its stated goal is to reform the Palestinian refugee camps underIslamic sharia law,[9] and its primary targets are the Lebanese authorities, Israel and the United States.[6] On 21 June 2007, Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza filed criminal charges against 16 Fatah al-Islam members accused of carrying outbombings against two civilian buses that killed two people and injured 21 others nearAin Alaq, a Lebanese mountain village.[10]
Many Islamist militias have taken base in the Ain el Hilweh refugee camp. BecauseLebanese Armed Forces are not allowed to enter the camp, Ain al-Hilweh has been called a "zone of unlaw" by the Lebanese media.[11] Many people wanted by the Lebanese government are believed to have taken refuge in the camp as a result of the lack of Lebanese authority.[12]
TheAbdallah Azzam Brigades was formed by the Saudi nationalSaleh Al-Qaraawi in 2009 as an offshoot ofal-Qaeda in Iraq, and was tasked with hitting targets in the Levant and throughout theMiddle East. Qaraawi is a Saudi citizen and is on the list of85 most-wanted terrorists that was issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry in 2009. An improvised device blasts outside of the Fakhereddine Army Barracks inBeirut, leaving one soldier wounded. A man claiming to be a member of Al-Qaida called the Lebanese newspaper Al Balad and claimed responsibility for the attack before and after the blasts.[13][14] During 2013, the group start a string of attacks in 2013.[15][16][17] On 19 November 2013, the Brigade claimed responsibility for adouble suicide bombing outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut, which killed at least 23 people and wounded over 140.[18][19] The group said the bombing was retaliation for Iranian support ofHezbollah, which fights on the Syrian government's side in the currentSyrian civil war, and warned of further attacks should Iran's government not acquiesce.[20] On 23 December the Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed a rocket attack inHermel, Lebanon.[21][22]
Because it is a Sunni stronghold, all major currents of Lebanese Sunni Islamism have been centered in Tripoli.[23] Black banners decorated with extracts from the Quran are prevalent and larger numbers of women are taking up theniqab.[24] Nearly half of theAlawites of Lebanon live in the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood of Tripoli and nearby villages inAkkar, north Lebanon. TheBab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen conflict was a recurring conflict between the Sunni Muslim residents of the Bab-al-Tabbaneh neighborhood and the Alawite residents of the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood of Tripoli, Lebanon from 1976 through 2015. Residents of the two neighborhoods became rivals during the Lebanese Civil War and frequently engaged in violence. Residents were divided along sectarian lines and by their opposition to or support of the Alawite-led Syrian government.
On 23 August 2013 two mosques were bombed in Tripoli, Lebanon. 47 people were killed and five hundred more injured in what has been called the "biggest and deadliest" bombing in Tripoli since the end ofLebanon's Civil War.[25] Although nobody has claimed responsibility, it was perceived as an attack on theLebanese Sunni community, with residents blamingBashar al-Assad andHezbollah.[26] On 10 January 2015, nine people were killed and more than 30 wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded café in Jabal Mohsen,Tripoli,Lebanon.[27] Theal-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groupNusra Front took responsibility for the attacks that targeted the Alawite area.[28]
Between 2011 and 2017, fighting from theSyrian civil warspilled over intoLebanon as opponents and supporters of theSyrian Arab Republic traveled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil. The Syrian conflict stoked a resurgence of sectarian violence in Lebanon,[29] with many ofLebanon's Sunni Muslims supporting the rebels in Syria, while many ofLebanon's Shi'a Muslims supporting the Ba'athist government ofBashar al-Assad, whoseAlawite minority is usually described as a heterodox offshoot of Shi'ism.[30] Killings, unrest and sectarian kidnappings across Lebanon resulted.[31]
The Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade, also known as the Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek Brigade, was aSunnijihadist group active inLebanon. It first rose to prominence in November 2013 when it retaliated against theShiaIslamist groupHezbollah, after clashes between locals Sunnis inBaalbek and members of Hezbollah.[32] The group is known for attacking the Iranian embassy inBeirut in 2013 and attackingChristian churches.[33] On 30 June 2014, the group pledged its allegiance to theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[34]
On 12 November 2015, twosuicide bombers detonated explosives inBourj el-Barajneh, a southern suburb ofBeirut,Lebanon, that is inhabited mostly byShia Muslims.[35] Reports of the number of fatalities concluded that 43 people died directly from the detonation.[36][35][37]Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.[36]
TheASALA was aMarxistArmenian Nationalist group founded in 1975 inBeirut,Lebanon during theLebanese Civil War.[38] ASALA, trained in the Beirut camps of thePalestine Liberation Organization, is the best known of the guerrilla groups responsible for assassinations of at least 36 Turkish diplomats.[39] Out of the 84 recordedattacks by ASALA, 10 of them occurred inBeirut, Lebanon.
In 1971, theJapanese Red Army, led byFusako Shigenobu, established its base of operations in Lebanon after breaking away from the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction in Japan. The JRA allied with thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and received funding, training, and weaponry from the group. This alliance allowed the JRA to carry out attacks worldwide in support of the Palestinian cause.[40]
Between March and August 1977 aseries of massacres on Christian civilians took place in theChouf region during theLebanese Civil War.[41] The massacres were mostly committed by Druze gunmen of thePeople's Liberation Army after the assassination of Druze leaderKamal Jumblatt. Many victims were mutilated and women were reportedly sexually abused. On 16 March 1977, the PSP leaderKamal Jumblatt was ambushed and killed in his car nearBaakline in the Chouf by unidentified gunmen (allegedly, fighters from the pro-Syrian faction of theSyrian Social Nationalist Party, acting in collusion with the Syrian military commander of theMount Lebanon region, ColonelIbrahim Houeijy);[42][43] believing that the perpetrators were members of the predominately ChristianPhalangistKataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF) orTigers Militias, PLF militiamen extracted swift retribution on the local Maronite population living in the intermixed towns and villages aroundBaakline. Despite the hasty dispatch on 17 March of 4,000Syrian Army troops from theArab Deterrent Force (ADF) to keep the peace in the Chouf, it is estimated that about 177–250 Maronite villagers were killed in reprisal actions at the towns ofMoukhtara andBarouk, and at the villages ofMazraat el-Chouf,Maaser el-Chouf,Botmeh,Kfar Nabrakh,Machghara andBrih (St George's Church attack).[44]
In 1983 Hezbollah engaged in three attacks against foreign missions in Lebanon. On 18 April, asuicide car bomber stole a van carrying 2,000 pounds of explosives and slammed into the U.S. Embassy killing 63 people including 18 Americans.[45] On 23 October, a suicide car bomber in a truck carrying 2500 pounds of explosives crashed through the gates of aUS Marine barracks killing 241 American servicemen and wounding 81. 58 French troops from the multinational force are also killed in a separate attack.[46] On 4 November, a suicide bomber drove apickup truck filled with explosives into aShin Bet building at anIDF base inTyre. The explosion killed 28 Israelis and 32 Lebanese prisoners, and wounded about 40 others.[47]
Malcolm H. Kerr, president of the American University in Beirut (AUB), was assassinated near his office. He had replaced AUB president David Dodge, who was kidnapped six months earlier. A telephone message claiming to represent Islamic Jihad proclaimed: "We are responsible of the assassination of the president of AUB ... We also vow that not a single American or French will remain on this soil. We shall take no different course. And we shall not waver."[48]
It is estimated that between 31 August and 13 September 1983, Jumblatt's SocialistPeople's Liberation Army overran thirty-two villages, killing 1,500 people and driving another 50,000 out of their homes in the mountainous areas east and west of Beirut. In retaliation, some 127 Druze civilians were killed by LF militiamen between 5–7 September at the Shahhar region, Kfarmatta, Al-Bennay, Ain Ksour, and Abey, where the LF also desecrated the tomb of a prominent Druze religious man. In total, these "tit-for-tat" killings ultimately led to the displacement of 20,000 Druze and 163,670 Christian villagers from the Chouf,
TheLebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) was a small Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group which played an active role in the Lebanese Civil War between 1979 and 1988. Between 1982 and 1987 they were held responsible for 18 bombings, political assassinations, and kidnappings targeting French, American and Israeli officials in bothLebanon andWestern Europe. These include the assassinations inParis of the assistant US military Attaché to the American embassy,Lieutenant colonelCharles R. Ray on January 18, 1982,[49] followed on 3 April of that year by the Israeli diplomatYaakov Barsimantov.[50] The LARF was also allegedly behind the assassination of US citizenLeamon Hunt, the director of themultinational observer force in the Sinai on February 15, 1984 inRome,[51][52][53] as well as a failed attempt on March 24, 1984 on the USConsul-General inStrasbourg,Robert O. Homme,[54]
In the aftermath ofBlack September inJordan, many Palestinians arrived inLebanon, among themYasser Arafat and thePalestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). In the early 1970s their presence exacerbated an already tense situation in Lebanon, and in 1975 theLebanese Civil War broke out. After Black September, the PLO and its offshoots waged an international campaign against Israelis. Notable events were theMunich Olympics massacre (1972), the hijacking of several civilian airliners, theSavoy Hotel attack, theZion Square explosive refrigerator and theCoastal Road massacre. During the 1970s and the early 1980s, Israel suffered attacks from PLO bases in Lebanon, such as theAvivim school bus massacre in 1970, theMaalot massacre in 1974 (where Palestinian militants massacred 21 school children) and theNahariya attack led bySamir Kuntar in 1979, as well as a terrorist bombing by Ziad Abu Ein that killed two Israeli 16-year-olds and left 36 other youths wounded during theLag BaOmer celebration in Tiberias.[55]
In Lebanon, the PLO aggressively took control of Lebanese towns were militants attacked Christian civilians. In October 1976 inAishiya,[56]Lebanon, more than 70 Lebanese Christian civilians,[57] including at least 7 under the age of 16, were killed the Syrian backed Palestinian factionsFatah andAs-Sa'iqa during theLebanese Civil War. Four people were reported to be executed and one was burned alive.[58] The village was depopulated and used asPalestine Liberation Organization base of operation.[59]
On 20 January, under the command ofFatah andas-Sa'iqa, members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and leftist Muslim Lebanese militiamen enteredDamour.[60] Along with twenty Phalangist militiamen, civilians - including women, the elderly, and children, and often comprising whole families - were lined up against the walls of their homes and sprayed withmachine-gun fire by Palestinians; the Palestinians then systematically dynamited and burned these homes.[61][62][60] Several of the town's young women were separated from other civilians and gang-raped.[62] Most estimates of the number killed range from 150 to 250, with the overwhelming majority of these being civilians;Robert Fisk puts the number of civilians massacred at nearly 250, while Israeli professorMordechai Nisan claims a significantly higher figure of 582.[62][63][64]
On January 18, 1976, early in theLebanese Civil War, theMuslim-inhabited district ofLa Quarantaine was attacked by right right-wingLebanese Front. According to then-The Washington Post-correspondentJonathan Randal, "Many Lebanese Muslim men and boys were rounded up and separated from the women and children and massacred," while the women and young girls were violently raped and robbed.[65]
TheSabra and Shatila massacre was the 16–18 September 1982 killing of between 700 and 3,500 civilians—mostlyPalestinians andLebanese Shias—in the city ofBeirut during theLebanese Civil War. It was perpetrated by theLebanese Forces, one of the mainChristian militias in Lebanon, and supported by theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) that had surrounded Beirut's Sabra neighbourhood and the adjacentShatila refugee camp.[66] On 16 December 1982, theUnited Nations General Assembly condemned the massacre and declared it to be an act ofgenocide.[67]
In 2008, U.S. authorities arrested Hezbollah operatives in the U.S. andColombia who were involved in a scheme to launder drug money through used car sales.[68] It was known later asProject Cassandra.[69]Chekri Mahmoud Harb is a Lebanese national with ties toHezbollah and theMedellin Cartel. He is known for his involvement in internationaldrug trafficking andmoney laundering operations, which have helped fund Hezbollah's activities. He is a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker by theU.S. Treasury Department under theKingpin Act. Intelligence reports indicated that Harb's operations allowed Hezbollah to launder hundreds of millions of dollars, mixing drug money with the proceeds of legitimate businesses. These funds helped the organization finance its operations despite international sanctions targeting the group.[70] U.S. officials believe Hezbollah began turning to global criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking to offset declining financial support fromIran, which had been impacted by economic sanctions. "The ability of terror groups like Hezbollah to tap into worldwide criminal funding streams is the new post-9/11 challenge," said Derek Maltz, the DEA official who oversaw the agency's investigation into theLebanese Canadian Bank.[71]
In 2012 United States politicianSue Myrick claimed that mounting evidence ofHezbollah presence in Mexico was ignored by theDepartment of Homeland Security.[72][73] These groups became more visible by 2010, when the Tucson Police Department reported International Terrorism Situational Awareness forHezbollah in Mexico, noting the arrest of Jameel Nasar inTijuana. Nasar had tried to form a Hezbollah network in Mexico andSouth America. A report from the USHouse Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management tied Middle East terror organizations with Mexican drug cartels.[74][75]
In 2019, the U.S.Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revealed that Hezbollah had established a presence inVenezuela to facilitate drug trafficking and money laundering. Hezbollah has also been involved in the production and trafficking of amphetamines, particularly Captagon, which is popular in the Gulf states.Captagon production facilities have been discovered in areas of Lebanon under Hezbollah's control.[76]
Lebanese Hezbollah, or the "Party of God," emerged from an Iranian initiative to unite various militant Shi'a groups in Lebanon during a period of domestic and regional instability, particularly the country's civil war Hezbollah's forces were trained and organized by a contingent of 1,500 Revolutionary Guards from Iran, with permission from the Syrian government. They were allowed to transit through the eastern highlands of Syrian-controlled Lebanon and establish a base in the Bekaa Valley during Lebanon's occupation.[77] As of August 2002, Iran was reported to have financed and established terrorist training camps in the Syrian-controlled Beka'a Valley to train Hezbollah,Hamas,Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and PFLP-GC terrorists. Iran has consistently supported Hezbollah's involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, assigning Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's international operations commander, to assist Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and PIJ.[78] Iran utilized Hezbollah for international attacks such as the 1996Khobar Towers bombing[79]
After the 19791979 Nahariya attack conducted byPalestinian Liberation Front militants,Israel Defense ForcesChief of StaffRafael Eitan instructed Israeli GeneralAvigdor Ben-Gal to "Kill them all," meaning thePalestinian Liberation Organization and those connected to it.[80] The aim of the series of operations was to "cause chaos among the Palestinians and Syrians in Lebanon, without leaving an Israeli fingerprint, to give them the feeling that they were constantly under attack and to instill them with a sense of insecurity."[80] Beginning in July 1981, with a bomb attack on thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) offices at Fakhani Road inWest Beirut,[81] these attacks were claimed by a group called theFront for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners. The FLLF was itself a front for Israeli agents,[80] and it killed hundreds of people between 1979 and 1983.[82][83]
Hezbollah attributed the2024 Lebanon pager explosions, which killed 37 people (including 2 children), to Israel.[84][85][86] The explosions were aimed at members of the Lebanese militant groupHezbollah, but victims included family members of Hezbollah militants. Belgian deputy prime ministerPetra De Sutter called the incident a "terror attack."[87] TheLemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention condemned the incident as "terrorist attacks against Lebanese people".[88] In official statements, the attack was also labelled terrorism by Hamas and by Iran.[89]Leon Panetta, the former-CIA director, stated, "I don't think there's any question it's a form of terrorism."[90]
| date | country | location | fatalities | injured | target type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 January 1981 | France | Paris | 1 | 8 | Government (Diplomatic) |
| 27 August 1981 | Lebanon | Beirut | 0 | 0 | Government (Diplomatic) |
| 17 September 1981 | Lebanon | Chekka | 10 | 10 | Business |
| 17 September 1981 | Lebanon | Sidon | 23 | 90 | Non-state militia |
| 20 September 1981 | Lebanon | Beirut | 4 | 28 | Business |
| 28 September 1981 | Lebanon | Unknown | 18 | 45 | Non-state militia |
| 1 October 1981 | Lebanon | Beirut | 83 | 300 | Police |
| 2 October 1981 | Lebanon | Nabatiyeh | 0 | 0 | Educational Institution |
| 29 November 1981 | Syria | Aleppo | 90 | 135 | Private Citizens/Property |
| 27 February 1982 | Lebanon | Beirut | 8 | 35 | Military |
| 21 May 1982 | Lebanon | Beirut | 3 | 10 | Business |
| 21 May 1982 | Lebanon | Beirut | 0 | 0 | Business |
| 21 May 1982 | Lebanon | Beirut | 0 | 1 | Private Citizens/Property |
| 28 January 1983 | Lebanon | Chtaura | 12 | 20 | Private Citizens/Property |
| 7 August 1983 | Lebanon | Baalbek | 35 | 133 | Private Citizens/Property |
Libya underMuammar Gaddafi provided sanctuary, training, arms, and financial support to a variety of Palestinian terrorist groups, including theAbu Nidal organization, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC).[92]
Syria was designated as a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" by the United States in 1979 for Hafez'soccupation policy in Lebanon and financing of numerous militant groups likePKK,Hezbollah, and several Iranian-backed terrorist groups.[93] Syria has been allegedly responsible for strings of political assassinations in Lebanon most notably theassassination of Rafic Hariri which triggered theCedar Revolution and the subsequent withdrawal of troops. International investigations revealed direct participation of members in the highest echelons of the Syrian government.[94][95] Even after withdrawing troops from Lebanon in 2005, Syria continued to exert influence through its support of Hezbollah and maintain covert intelligence operations in the country. Several other bombings and assassinations against anti-Syrian figures in Lebanon includeSamir Kassir,George Hawi,Gebran Tueni,Pierre Amine Gemayel, andWalid Eido.
Former cabinet memberMichel Samaha was arrested on 9 August 2012 for his alleged involvement in transporting explosives into Lebanon, with the help of the Syrian Security ChiefAli Mamlouk, to carry out terrorist attacks in order to incite sectarian strife and destabilize the country.[96][97][98] Samaha allegedly confessed on 10 August to the Internal Security Forces Information Branch that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wanted bomb attacks in Lebanon.[99] According to leaked interrogation transcripts, Samaha allegedly suggested that the planned bombings were meant to target Lebanese Christian leaders in order to raise sectarian tensions.[100] The US government designated Samaha a "global terrorist" for helping the Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, launch attacks in Lebanon.[101] Internal Security Forces leader,Wissam al-Hassan played a central role in Samaha's arrest. He was laterassassinated on 19 October 2012 in which Syria has been suspected for his killing due to his involvement in the arrest of Samaha.[102]
Information regarding the sale of Venezuelan passports to foreign individuals became available in 2003.[103] Since 2006, theUnited States Congress has been aware of fraud regarding Venezuelan passports.[103] The Venezuelan government has allegedly had a long-term relationship with the Islamic militant groupHezbollah.[104] In 2006 following the2006 Lebanon War, Hezbollah leaderHassan Nasrallah thanked President Hugo Chávez for his support, calling Chávez his "brother".[104] Chávez also allowed members of Hezbollah to stay in Venezuela and allegedly used Venezuelan embassies in the Middle East to launder money. President Nicolas Maduro has continued the relationship with Hezbollah and called for their assistance during the2014–15 Venezuelan protests.[104] Members of the Venezuelan government were also accused of providing financial aid toHezbollah by theUnited States Department of the Treasury, which included Charge d' Affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy in Damascus, SyriaGhazi Nasr Al-Din.[105]
On 24 July 1987,Air Afrique Flight 056, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 operating theBrazzaville–Bangui–Rome–Paris service was hijacked and diverted toGeneva Airport.[106] One passenger was killed and 30 people were injured.[107] The hijacker was 21-year-old Hussein Hariri, a Lebanese Shiite who claimed to be a member of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).[108]
The2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt involved the arrest of 49 men by Egyptian authorities in the five months preceding April 2009. Egypt accused them of beingHezbollah agents planning attacks againstIsraeli and Egyptian targets in theSinai Peninsula.[109] The arrests led to tensions between the Egyptian government and Hezbollah, as well as between Egypt and Iran.[110]
On 12 April 1985, the El Descanso restaurant inMadrid,Spain was bombed in aterrorist attack. Theexplosion caused the three-story building to collapse, crashing down on about 200 diners and employees, killing 18 people, all Spanish citizens, and injuring 82 others, including elevenAmericans working at the nearbyTorrejón Air Base who frequented the restaurant.[111][112][113] At the time it was the deadliest attack in Spain since theSpanish Civil War.[112][113] Many terror organizations claimed responsibility for the attack, however the case was closed in 1987 due to a lack of arrests. Only the claim by theIslamic Jihad Organization was included in the closing summary.[114]
On 22 July 1985, two bombs exploded in a terrorist attack inCopenhagen,Denmark. One of the bombs exploded near theGreat Synagogue and a Jewish nursing home and kindergarten, and another at the offices ofNorthwest Orient Airlines. At least one more bomb, planned for theEl Al airline offices, was discovered. One person was killed and 26 people were injured in the attacks.[115][116] TheHezbollah-affiliatedIslamic Jihad Organization phoned the Beirut offices of theAssociated Press to claim responsibility for the attacks.[117]
From 1985 to 1986, a series of terrorist attacks inParis,France were carried out by the Committee for Solidarity With Arab and Middle Eastern Political Prisoners (CSPPA), a previously unknown group, demanding the release of three imprisoned international terrorists.[118] The CSPPA was believed to have been some combination of Palestinians, Armenian nationalists, and Lebanese Marxists, though it was later reported that they were mainly instigated byHezbollah,sponsored by the Iranian state.[119] The CSPPA demanded the release ofAnis Naccache, from the Iranian state network;Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, member of theLebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF); and Varadjian Garbidjan, member of theArmenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA).[120]
On July 7, 2012, local authorities arrested Lebanese-born Swedish citizen Hossam Yaakoub inLimassol,Cyprus. Yaakoub admitted to being a member of theShi'aIslamic militant groupHezbollah, who had been tasked with surveilling the activities of Israeli tourists on the island. Israel condemned the incident as an attempted terrorist attack.[121]
on 18 July 2012, aterrorist attack was carried out by asuicide bomber[122] on a passenger bus transporting Israeli tourists at theBurgas Airport inBurgas, Bulgaria.[123][124] The bus was carrying 42 Israelis, mainly youths,[125] from the airport to their hotels, after arriving on a flight fromTel Aviv. The explosion killed the Bulgarian bus driver and five Israelis[126] and injured 32 Israelis, resulting ininternational condemnation of the bombing. The bomber was identified as a dual Lebanese-French citizen named Mohamad Hassan El-Husseini with links to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah was responsible for two major terrorist attacks in Argentina in the 1990s: The1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people. The1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center inBuenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured over 300. This was the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina's history.
Ziad Jarrah was one of the four hijackers involved in theSeptember 11 attacks, specifically onUnited Airlines Flight 93. He was a trained Lebanese pilot. He falsely claimed there was a bomb on board and instructing passengers to remain seated intending to crash it into a significant target, likely the U.S. Capitol or the White House, after the plane took off from Newark, New Jersey.[127] He ended up crashing into a field nearShanksville, Pennsylvania, rather than reaching its intended target.
After the2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and throughout theGaza war, Hezbollah was accused of planning to carry out terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli civilians in South America.[128]
On May 30, 1972, three Japanese Red Army members, in collaboration with the PFLP, carried out theLod Airport massacre in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 26 people. This was the JRA's first major attack from Lebanon. Many of the victims wereChristian pilgrims.[129] The only surviving attacker wasKōzō Okamoto who currently in asylum in Lebanon.
The1983 Kuwait bombings were carried out by Hezbollah and operatives of the Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite group Da'wa on December 12, 1983. The targets included the American and French embassies, theKuwait airport, the grounds of theRaytheon Corporation, a Kuwait National Petroleum Company oil rig, and a government-owned power station. The bombings killed six people and wounded nearly ninety more. Kuwaiti officials arrested seven Shia suspects, and Syrians, Iranians, and extremist Palestinians were also linked to previous threats against the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait.[130] Ultimately, 21 defendants were put on trial (17 captured in a nationwide manhunt and 4 tried in absentia). After a six-week trial, six were sentenced to death (three of those were in absentia), seven to life imprisonment, seven to terms between five and fifteen years.[131] Over the next several years,Hezbollah perpetrated a string ofkidnappings and bombings with the goal of forcing the Kuwaiti government to free the al-Dawa prisoners. HostageTerry Anderson was told that he and the other hostages kidnapped inBeirut had been abducted "to gain the freedom of their seventeen comrades in Kuwait."[132] Hezbollah also conducted two hijackings in Kuwait. On 3 December 1984, aKuwait Airways flight fromKuwait City toKarachi,Pakistan was hijacked by four LebaneseShi'a hijackers and diverted toTehran. On 5 April 1988,Kuwait Airways Flight 422 was hijacked fromBangkok to Kuwait with 111 passengers and crew aboard, including three members of theKuwaiti Royal Family. Six or seven Lebanese men[133] (includingHassan Izz-Al-Din, a veteran of the TWA 847 hijacking[134]) armed with guns and hand grenades forced the pilot to land inMashhad,Iran.[135]
On 25 December 1986, en route fromBaghdad'sSaddam International Airport toAmman,Jordan, Flight 163 was hijacked by four men.Iraqi Airways security personnel tried to stop the hijackers, but ahand grenade was detonated in the passenger cabin, forcing the crew to initiate an emergency descent. Another hand grenade exploded in the cockpit, causing the aircraft to crash nearArar, Saudi Arabia where it broke in two and caught fire. Shortly after the hijacking, the pro-Iranian groupIslamic Jihad Organization claimed responsibility.[136]
TheKhobar Towers bombing was a significant terrorist attack that occurred on June 25, 1996, inKhobar, Saudi Arabia. It targeted a housing complex used primarily by U.S. military personnel stationed there as part of Operation Southern Watch, which enforced a no-fly zone over southern Iraq following the Gulf War. The explosion resulted in the deaths of 19 U.S. Air Force personnel and injured about 498 others, including many Saudi nationals and foreign workers in the vicinity, with the explosives reportedly smuggled into Saudi Arabia from Lebanon.[137][138]
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Since the outbreak of conflict in Syria, the Lebanese Army has been deployed to prevent clashes from taking place in the city ofTripoli, as well as in other hot zones such asBeirut andArsal on the eastern borders. In 2014,ISIS andAl-Nusra Front terrorist groups established small bases and fortifications in theAnti-Lebanon Mountains, where they operated againstHezbollah and the Lebanese Army.[139][140]
On June 23, 2013, intense clashes in Sidon took place between followers of Salafist Sunni preacherAhmad Al-Assir and Lebanese troops. Following these clashes, the Lebanese Army was sent in to capture Sheikh Assir's headquarters at Abra and apprehend him. Lebanese Army units fought against pro-Assir militants for two days in a battle that led to the deaths of at least 16 Lebanese soldiers, and the wounding of at least 50 men. Although the LAF managed to secure his complex, Assir was able to escape and was only captured on August 16, 2015, while trying to flee the country on a false passport.
In August 2017, theLebanese Armed Forces, commanded byJoseph Aoun, initiated the Jroud Dawn Operation which was an offensive against anIslamic State enclave on the northeast border withSyria.[141]
The United States provided significant counterterrorism assistance to Lebanon's security forces. The U.S. has dramatically increased itsForeign Military Financing to Lebanon to enhance the capabilities of the LAF to counter terrorist threats.[142]
For decades, Israel, a key ally of the United States in the region of the Middle East, has engaged in its own war on terror againstHamas,Hezbollah, and other Iranian-backed insurgent groups. Israel launched a 34-day military conflict against Hezbollah inLebanon, northern Israel and the Golan Heights during mid-2006.[4] Followingthe October 7 attack, Israel declared the still ongoingGaza war, leading to aground invasion on October 27 with the stated goals of destroying Hamas and freeing hostages.[12][13] Hezbollah declared support for Hamas by launching rockets towards Northern Israel. In response, the IDF have killed most of Hezbollah's command, including the secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, and invaded southern Lebanon to destroy their infrastructure.[14]
| Rank | Date | Fatalities | Injuries | Perpetrator | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 23, 1983 | 370 | 150 | Hezbollah | Beirut |
| 2 | August 13, 1978 | 98 | 160 | Ahmad Jibril | Beirut |
| 3 | November 11, 1982 | 90 | 55 | Ahmad Qasir | Tyre |
| 4 | 1 October 1981 | 83 | 300 | FLLF | Beirut |
| 5 | February 9, 1987 | 80 | 15 | PLO | Beirut |
List of organizations that have had a presence in Lebanon and are designated terrorist by at least one country.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Fatah, Saika Organization and their allies attacked the village of Aishiyeh in the South and committed mass murder and atrocities, as part of the Syrian Regime's ethnic cleansing campaign. More than 70 innocent people were killed and 100 seriously wounded.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)several declared terrorist organisations are listed amongst many declarations of "association/united group, not, allowed" or, in other words, declarations of an unlawful/illegal organisation – and maybe with other information as well in a large spreadsheet
[Taji Mustafa being interviewed on BBC Today programme] the idea of a Caliphate – a unifying authority for which the Muslim world...which we think will bring stability – these basic ideas of Islam which enjoy popular support, are now being labelled as beyond the pale – as terrorism.
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