1978 Orly Airport attack

Last updated

1978 Orly Airport attack
Ile-de-France region location map.svg
Red pog.svg
The attack site
Location Orly Airport, Paris, France
Coordinates 48°43′24″N2°22′46″E / 48.7233°N 2.3794°E / 48.7233; 2.3794
Date20 May 1978;46 years ago (1978-05-20)
c. 3:00 pm
Attack type
Mass shooting
Deaths2 civilians (+3 attackers)
Injured5
PerpetratorsPalestinian nationalists

The 1978 Orly Airport attack was a shoot-out that took place on 20 May 1978 in the Paris Orly Airport, France as three terrorists armed with submachine guns opened fire at the El Al boarding gate. [1] [2] [3] The terrorists were also reportedly carrying grenades and plastic explosives in the shoot-out that lasted for 25 minutes. [4] Two people including one police officer were killed before the three terrorists were shot and killed by French police and Israeli security guards. [1] [2] [3] Five people waiting to board a nearby Iberia flight to Malaga were wounded. [5] The airport was evacuated for about three hours after the attack. [5] According to Israeli sources the group behind the attack was a unit headed by Abu Nidal which cooperated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). [5]

Related Research Articles

EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd., trading as EL AL is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve almost 50 destinations, operating scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights within Israel, and to Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Africa, and the Far East, from its main base in Ben Gurion Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airport security</span> Measures to prevent crime at an airport

Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats.

The Lod Airport massacre was a terrorist attack that occurred on 30 May 1972. Three members of the Japanese Red Army recruited by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO), attacked Lod Airport near Tel Aviv, killing 26 people and injuring 80 others. Two of the attackers were killed, while a third, Kōzō Okamoto, was captured after being wounded.

A sky marshal is a covert law enforcement or counter-terrorist agent on board a commercial aircraft to counter aircraft hijackings. Such an agent is also known as an air marshal, a flight marshal, or an in-flight security officer (IFSO). Sky marshals may be provided by airlines such as El Al, or by government agencies such as the Austrian Einsatzkommando Cobra, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, German Federal Police, National Security Guard in India, Metropolitan Police MO19 from London, Pakistan Airports Security Force, or US Federal Air Marshal Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks</span> 1985 terror attacks by Palestinian nationalists

The Rome and Vienna airport attacks were two major terrorist attacks carried out on 27 December 1985. Seven Arab terrorists attacked two airports in Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria, with assault rifles and hand grenades. Nineteen civilians were killed and over a hundred were injured before four of the terrorists were killed by El Al Security personnel and local police, who captured the remaining three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in Egypt</span> List of terrorist attacks in Egypt from the 1940s to the present day

Terrorism in Egypt in the 20th and 21st centuries has targeted the Egyptian government officials, Egyptian police and Egyptian army members, tourists, Sufi Mosques and the Christian minority. Many attacks have been linked to Islamic extremism, and terrorism increased in the 1990s when the Islamist movement al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya targeted high-level political leaders and killed hundreds – including civilians – in its pursuit of implementing traditional Sharia law in Egypt.

The Orly Airport attack was the 15 July 1983 bombing of a Turkish Airlines check-in counter at Orly Airport in Paris, by the Armenian militant organization ASALA as part of its campaign for the recognition of and reparations for the Armenian genocide. The explosion killed eight people and injured 55.

On July 4, 2002, a lone gunman opened fire at the ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, United States. In the terrorist attack, two people were killed, and four others were injured before an El Al security guard fatally shot the gunman.

Events in the year 1968 in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Al Flight 432 attack</span> Terrorist attack at Zurich Airport in 1969

El Al Flight 432 was a Boeing 720-058B that was attacked by a squad of four armed Palestinian militants, members of the Lebanese-based militant organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, while it was preparing for takeoff at the Zurich International Airport in Kloten, Switzerland on February 18, 1969. The plane, which was on its way from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv via Zürich, was due to take off at Zurich International Airport. Several of the crew members were injured during the attack; one later died of his injuries. The plane was severely damaged. A greater disaster was averted when Mordechai Rahamim, an undercover Israeli security agent stationed on the plane, opened fire at the attackers and killed the terrorist leader. Rahamim and the three surviving attackers were arrested and tried by Swiss authorities. The attackers were found guilty and given prison sentences, while Rahamim was acquitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Burgas bus bombing</span> Suicide attack against Israeli civilians at the Burgas Airport in Bulgaria

The 2012 Burgas bus bombing was a terrorist attack carried out by a suicide bomber on a passenger bus transporting Israeli tourists at the Burgas Airport in Burgas, Bulgaria, on 18 July 2012. The bus was carrying 42 Israelis, mainly youths, from the airport to their hotels, after arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv. The explosion killed the Bulgarian bus driver and five Israelis and injured 32 Israelis, resulting in international condemnation of the bombing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorism in France</span>

Terrorism in France refers to the terrorist attacks that have targeted the country and its population during the 20th and 21st centuries. Terrorism, in this case is much related to the country's history, international affairs and political approach. Legislation has been set up by lawmakers to fight terrorism in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State affiliated terrorist attacks in France</span> Terrorist attacks in France

ISIL-related terrorist attacks in France refers to the terrorist activity of the Islamic State in France, including attacks committed by Islamic State-inspired lone wolves. The French military operation Opération Sentinelle has been ongoing in France since the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks.

The March 2017 Île-de-France attacks were a pair of terrorist attacks by the same individual in Garges-lès-Gonesse, an outer suburb of Paris, and at Orly International Airport near Paris on 18 March 2017. The attacker, a 39-year-old man identified as Ziyed Ben Belgacem, was shot dead after attempting to seize a weapon from a soldier patrolling the airport under Opération Sentinelle.

On 13 and 19 January 1975, El Al aircraft at Paris-Orly Airport, France were subject to attempted RPG attacks by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorists led by Carlos the Jackal. While the intended attacks failed, collateral damage was suffered and the second attack resulted in gunfighting and a seventeen-hour hostage situation.

On 20 August 1978, a staff bus, of El Al airlines in London, England was attacked by Palestinian terrorists. Flight attendant Irit Gidron and one terrorist were killed in the attack, and nine people were wounded.

On 10 February 1970, a bus carrying passengers to an El Al airplane at the Munich-Riem Airport, West Germany was attacked by terrorists. One person was killed and 23 were wounded in the attack.

The 1973 Hellinikon International Airport attack was an attack at the Hellinikon International Airport at Athens, Greece. The two attackers were members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September. The militants used sub-machine guns and grenades against the passengers waiting in the passenger lounge. The attackers took hostages before they finally surrendered to the Greek police. It is believed that the gunmen wanted to hijack a plane, but they decided to attack when they were about to be searched by a Greek security inspector before boarding.

References

  1. 1 2 "Terrorist Incidents against Jewish Communities and Israeli Citizens Abroad, 1968-2003". International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. 20 December 2003. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 Curtis, Michael (1986). The Middle East: A Reader. Transaction Publishers. p. 279. ISBN   9781412837798.
  3. 1 2 Rubin, Barry; Rubin, Judith Colp (2015). Chronologies of Modern Terrorism. Routledge. p. 193. ISBN   9781317474654.
  4. "3 Terrorists Killed In Attack In Paris On El Al Passengers". The New York Times. 21 May 1978.
  5. 1 2 3 "Passengers Onel Al Flight Credit Israeli Security Guards for Thwarting Terrorist Attack on Plane Pas". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 May 1978.