Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

186 • FATAH REVOLUTIONARY COUNCILtightly controlled police state. On 29 November 2008 Syrian televisionbroadcast the confessions of 10 Fatah al-Islam members who claimedresponsibility for the bombing, including Wafa al-Abssi, the daughterof Shaker al-Abssi, who claimed that the group was being supportedboth by Saudi nationals and the al Mustaqbel Party of Sa’ad al Hariri.On 10 December 2008 al-Abssi was ambushed and killed by Syriansecurity forces outside Damascus.FATAH REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL (FRC). Also referredto by Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies as theAbu Nidal Organization, the Fatah Revolutionary Council was aPalestinian terrorist group founded in 1974 and led by Sabri Khalilal Banna, known by his nom de guerre of Abu Nidal, meaning“Father of the Struggle.” This group was once considered the mostdangerous terrorist organization in the 1990s and was credited withover 100 major terrorist attacks from 1974 to 1991 that killed 280and injured more than 600 others. The FRC was an umbrella groupencompassing different groups, or at least using different namesdepending on the targets. The FRC was also known as the ArabRevolutionary Council but chose to claim credit for its actionsunder the names of the Arab Revolutionary Brigades, the RevolutionaryOrganization of Socialist Muslims when claiming creditfor attacks on British targets, Black June when claiming credit forattacks on Jordanian targets, the Black September Organization,and possibly the Peace Conquerors. Altogether these groups numberedseveral hundred members. The use of these names helpedconfuse opponents about Abu Nidal and his group; for example,witness the use of “Fatah Revolutionary Council,” which had noconnection with al Fatah, or the use of “Black September” after1981, when the original organization of the same name had beendisbanded seven years earlier.A former member of al Fatah, Abu Nidal broke with both al Fatahand the rest of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in1974 and formed the FRC as an alternative organization. The FRCsought a total nationalist and social revolution, not only to destroyIsrael in favor of a Palestinian state but also to rid the Palestinians ofthose whom Abu Nidal regarded as compromisers and reactionaries,and to create a total revolution throughout the Arab world. The FRCenjoyed state sponsorship from several Arab states, having been