| 1984 United States embassy annex bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of theLebanese Civil War | |
 The attack aftermath | |
| Location | Beirut,Lebanon |
| Date | September 20, 1984; 41 years ago (1984-09-20) 11:44 am |
Attack type | Suicide van bomb |
| Weapon | 1,360 kilograms (3,000 lb) explosive laden van |
| Deaths | 23 (+1 bomber) |
| Injured | 90 |
| Perpetrators | Hezbollah,Islamic Republic of Iran |
On September 20, 1984, theShi'a Islamic militant groupHezbollah, with support and direction from theIslamic Republic of Iran, carried out a suicide car bombing targeting the US embassy annex in EastBeirut,Lebanon during theLebanese Civil War. The attack killed 23 people and 1 attacker.
Hezbollah had also used suicide car or truck bombs in the April1983 US embassy bombing and the October1983 Beirut barracks bombings.
In July 1984, the United States had relocated its embassy operations from West Beirut to the relative security ofAukar, a Christian suburb of East Beirut.[1] When on September 20, 1984, the attacker sped his van laden with 3,000 pounds (1360 kg) of explosives toward the six-story embassy, crucial security measures had not yet been completed at the complex, including a massive steel gate. The van was heading for the entrance of the diplomatic facility, but did not get within ten yards of the building after the driver was shot by a bodyguard of the British ambassador and Lebanese embassy guards and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle detonated at 11:44 a.m. after striking a parked van.[2]
The explosion "ripped off the front of the embassy, shredding glass, bending steel bars and destroying cars in a nearby parking lot." The attack killed a total of 23 people (+1 suicide bomber). Only two of the dead were American:Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth V. Welch of theUS Army andPetty Officer 1st Class Michael Ray Wagner of theUS Navy, who were both assigned to the US Defense Attache Office in Beirut. The majority of those killed were Lebanese, "either local employees or people seeking visas". Of the injured, the US ambassador,Reginald Bartholomew, was slightly hurt, as well as the British ambassador,David Miers, who was meeting with Bartholomew at the time of explosion.[3]
TheIslamic Jihad Organization (IJO) claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call a few hours after the explosion. The caller said, "The operation goes to prove that we will carry out our previous promise not to allow a single American to remain on Lebanese soil."[3] The US government understood that Hezbollah had carried out the attack under the cover name of IJO with the support of Iran.[4] Through satellite reconnaissance, US intelligence discovered that a mock-up of the annex had been created at theIranian Revolutionary Guard-run Sheikh Abdullah barracks inBaalbek to practice for the attack.[5][6]
Under the amendedForeign Sovereign Immunities Act, victims of the bombing and their families have filed cases against the Islamic Republic of Iran, holding it responsible for its role in the attack and demanding compensation.
sacred rage.