The 50 Worst Terrorist Attacks by Edward Mickolus, Susan L. Simmons Page A
Authors: Edward Mickolus, Susan L. Simmons
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home by way of Algeria and Germany and 10 days later were honored with a New York City ticker tape parade.
On February 4, 1998, Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar, the seniormost woman in the Iranian government, admitted that she was the interpreter and spokeswoman for the hostage-takers.
On April 18, 2002, U.S. district court judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled that the Algiers Accords meant that the hostages could not sue Iran. Hostagesâ attorney Thomas V. Lankford said they would appeal, which he did on May 12, 2003, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit. Various groups of hostage families pursued judicial remedies; to date, Tehran has not paid a dime in compensation.
On November 4, 2002, an Iranian court jailed Abbas Abdi, one of the hostage-takers, for activities of a polling institute he founded. He asked the elected president, Mohammad Khatami, to resign in protest if conservatives blocked two reform bills.
November 20, 1979
Mecca Grand Mosque Takeover
Overview: While the primacy of the sacred places of Islam is not disputed among Muslims, disputes regarding the appropriateness of what governmental authority and sect should have sway over the sites has pockmarked Islamic history. The sanctity of the sites has been a centerpiece of Saudi policy since the Wahhabi-dominated kingdomâs inception. One of the Kingâs most cherished titles is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (referring to Mecca and Medina). Disagreements with Riyadhâs royal familyâs Western connections on occasion bubble to the surface in the form of terrorist attacks. The most noteworthy attack came on the heels of the Iranian studentsâ attack on what they termed the Great Satan days earlier. While the Saudis were successful in putting down the insurrection, the attack rattled Muslim notions of the safety of the sites for years to come.
Incident: On November 20, 1979, between 200 and 500 heavily armed rebels raided the Grand Mosque at Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during dawn prayers, seizing hundreds and perhaps thousands of worshippers of30 nationalities. The attackers said that they sought reversal of Saudi modernization and the abolition of television, professional soccer, and the employment of Saudi women outside the home, in favor of a fundamentalist society based upon conservative Shia tenets.
The raiders closed the doors leading out of the courtyard and presented Mohammed ibn-Abdullah Qahtani as the Mahdi, the enlightened one long awaited as the final prophet. An Islamic prophecy says that the Mahdi will be proclaimed at dawn prayers at the Grand Mosque and that fighting in the streets of Mecca will accompany his coming. The attack took place on the Muslim year 1400âs first day.
Saudi Arabia initially clamped down on all reports of the takeover, leading to the spread of numerous rumors. Several sources blamed the Iranian regime for the attack. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran claimed that the United States was behind the sacrilege, leading to anti-U.S. riots in several Muslim countries. Responding to a request from Washington, D.C., Saudi interior minister Nayef bin Abdulaziz declared that the United States was not involved.
Saudi National Guardsmen blew up the mosque gates and fought their way inside against the rebels, who were armed with submachine guns, rifles, and pistols. The commander leading the Saudi assault was killed. Most of the hostages escaped or were freed by the Saudis several hours after the takeover, but the rebels held out for two weeks. Saudi troops used tanks, heavy artillery, snipers, and tear and asphyxiating gases against the attackers, who had taken up sniper positions in the mosqueâs minarets. Frequent Saudi claims of victory were proven premature, and it was not until December 3, 1979, that Saudi troops routed the last of the rebels occupying the mosqueâs basement.
Casualty figures vary. Some accounts indicated that 300 rebels, 65 soldiers, and 20 pilgrims were killed,
On February 4, 1998, Vice President Massoumeh Ebtekar, the seniormost woman in the Iranian government, admitted that she was the interpreter and spokeswoman for the hostage-takers.
On April 18, 2002, U.S. district court judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled that the Algiers Accords meant that the hostages could not sue Iran. Hostagesâ attorney Thomas V. Lankford said they would appeal, which he did on May 12, 2003, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit. Various groups of hostage families pursued judicial remedies; to date, Tehran has not paid a dime in compensation.
On November 4, 2002, an Iranian court jailed Abbas Abdi, one of the hostage-takers, for activities of a polling institute he founded. He asked the elected president, Mohammad Khatami, to resign in protest if conservatives blocked two reform bills.
November 20, 1979
Mecca Grand Mosque Takeover
Overview: While the primacy of the sacred places of Islam is not disputed among Muslims, disputes regarding the appropriateness of what governmental authority and sect should have sway over the sites has pockmarked Islamic history. The sanctity of the sites has been a centerpiece of Saudi policy since the Wahhabi-dominated kingdomâs inception. One of the Kingâs most cherished titles is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (referring to Mecca and Medina). Disagreements with Riyadhâs royal familyâs Western connections on occasion bubble to the surface in the form of terrorist attacks. The most noteworthy attack came on the heels of the Iranian studentsâ attack on what they termed the Great Satan days earlier. While the Saudis were successful in putting down the insurrection, the attack rattled Muslim notions of the safety of the sites for years to come.
Incident: On November 20, 1979, between 200 and 500 heavily armed rebels raided the Grand Mosque at Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during dawn prayers, seizing hundreds and perhaps thousands of worshippers of30 nationalities. The attackers said that they sought reversal of Saudi modernization and the abolition of television, professional soccer, and the employment of Saudi women outside the home, in favor of a fundamentalist society based upon conservative Shia tenets.
The raiders closed the doors leading out of the courtyard and presented Mohammed ibn-Abdullah Qahtani as the Mahdi, the enlightened one long awaited as the final prophet. An Islamic prophecy says that the Mahdi will be proclaimed at dawn prayers at the Grand Mosque and that fighting in the streets of Mecca will accompany his coming. The attack took place on the Muslim year 1400âs first day.
Saudi Arabia initially clamped down on all reports of the takeover, leading to the spread of numerous rumors. Several sources blamed the Iranian regime for the attack. Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran claimed that the United States was behind the sacrilege, leading to anti-U.S. riots in several Muslim countries. Responding to a request from Washington, D.C., Saudi interior minister Nayef bin Abdulaziz declared that the United States was not involved.
Saudi National Guardsmen blew up the mosque gates and fought their way inside against the rebels, who were armed with submachine guns, rifles, and pistols. The commander leading the Saudi assault was killed. Most of the hostages escaped or were freed by the Saudis several hours after the takeover, but the rebels held out for two weeks. Saudi troops used tanks, heavy artillery, snipers, and tear and asphyxiating gases against the attackers, who had taken up sniper positions in the mosqueâs minarets. Frequent Saudi claims of victory were proven premature, and it was not until December 3, 1979, that Saudi troops routed the last of the rebels occupying the mosqueâs basement.
Casualty figures vary. Some accounts indicated that 300 rebels, 65 soldiers, and 20 pilgrims were killed,
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