Operation Sabra and Shatila is a suicide bomber attack against Israeli forces in the Lebanese city of Tire .
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On November 11, 1982, the Peugeot car drove up to the building where the headquarters of the Israeli military administration was located in Tir, after which a powerful explosion rang out. The explosion of an 8-story building was almost completely destroyed, the Israelis suffered significant losses. Among those killed were border guards , several Shin Bet Israeli counterintelligence officers, and the military governor of Tir (colonel of the Israeli army) [1] .
Immediately after the explosion, Israeli troops were alerted, the area of the explosion was cordoned off by soldiers, and helicopters patrolled in the air. Israeli forces staged a city search, according to local press, up to 550 people were arrested [2] . At the same time, traffic on the Primorsky highway was blocked [3] .
Initially, the Lebanese National Resistance Front claimed responsibility for the blast, a representative of which said that " 150 occupants were killed and wounded in the city of Tire as a result of the retaliation operation Sabra and Shatila " [2] . According to preliminary IDF command data released the day after the incident, the explosion “ at least 15 Israelis were killed and 25 were injured ” [4] . On November 13, when search and rescue operations were still ongoing, the IDF specified the figures, reporting 47 dead Israelis and Arabs and 50-60 missing people [5] . By November 15, the final data on the victims were announced [6] . According to official Israeli data, as a result of the explosion, 75 IDF servicemen were killed and 27 Israeli citizens were injured, and in addition, 14 Arab prisoners in the building were killed and wounded. Initially, it was assumed that the explosion occurred as a result of a terrorist attack, this version was rejected during a preliminary investigation [6] . Currently, the cause of the explosion is officially considered a "gas leak" [7]
On May 19, 1985, the Hezbollah Islamic Movement recognized responsibility for the attack, and the name of the direct executor (it turned out to be 17-year-old Lebanese Ahmad Quasir) was named [8] .
Notes
- ↑ To the events in Lebanon // Izvestia, No. 316 (20297) dated 11/12/1982, p. 4
- ↑ 1 2 On the situation in Lebanon // Izvestia, No. 317 (20298) of 11/13/1982, p. 6
- ↑ Hugh Orgel. Bomb Blast Destroys Israeli Military Hq. in Tire, 27 Injured // Jewish News Archive, November 12, 1982
- ↑ James F. Clarity. Israelis killed in blast in Southern Lebanon // "The New York Times" November 12, 1982
- ↑ William E. Farrell. Lebanon Blast Death Toll Reaches 47 // “The New York Times” November 13, 1982
- ↑ 1 2 Preliminary Israeli Study Indicates No Terrorism in Building Collapse // “The New York Times” November 15, 1982
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Highlights of main events, 1982-1984
- ↑ Robert A. Pape, James K. Feldman. Cutting the Fuse: The explosion of global suicide terrorism & how to stop it. Chicago, The Univercity of Chicago Press. 2010. page 203
See also
- Explosions of the barracks of peacekeepers in Beirut (1983)
- Lebanon War (1982)
- The massacre at Sabra and Chatil