Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

4 • ABU NIDAL ORGANIZATIONStates by cooperating to resolve the deadlock over extraditing thesuspects in the Pam Am Flight 103 bombing for trial at The Hague.In Egypt, Abu Nidal cooperated with Egyptian security officialsin their operations against the Islamic Group. In April 1998 hisoperatives bombed a mosque in San’a, Yemen, used by EgyptianIslamic fundamentalists and in July 1998 they assassinated an IslamicGroup leader, Sheikh Mohammad Salah Mottalid, at anotherSan’a mosque. On 3 July 1998, however, Abu Nidal was confrontedby a revolt of 10 of his followers who tried to wrest control of hisorganization from him. The Egyptian security forces put Abu Nidalunder protective arrest on 5 July 1998 and proceeded to deport the10 dissidents. News of his presence in Egypt leaked out in August1998, much to the embarrassment of the Egyptian regime, whichadamantly denied his presence in Egypt. On 6 December 1998, hewas allowed to leave from Cairo to Tehran, Iran, and from there hemoved to Baghdad, Iraq. On 16 August 2002, Abu Nidal was killedby between one and four gunshot wounds. While the Iraqi regimeclaimed he had committed suicide, Palestinian sources claimed hehad been killed on the orders of Saddam Hussein.ABU NIDAL ORGANIZATION. Name by which Western intelligenceand law-enforcement agencies referred to the umbrella organizationcomprising the Fatah Revolutionary Council and otherPalestinian terrorist groups, all headed by Sabri Khalil al Banna (akaAbu Nidal).ABU SAYYAF GROUP (ASG). The Abu Sayyaf Group is a factionthat split from the Moro Liberation Front (MLF) in 1991,apparently due to disagreements over the MLF’s negotiations withthe Philippine government. Originally led by Abdulrajik AbubakarJanjalani (d. 1998), the ASG is attempting to create an Iranian-styleIslamic republic in the predominantly Muslim-inhabited Mindanaoand Sulu islands of the Philippine archipelago. Leadership of ASGpassed to Khaddafi Janjalani, who was later killed on Sulu Islandwhen shot by government troops on 4 September 2006. His brotherOmar Janjalani reportedly has taken control of the group since then.The ASG bombed a light passenger plane in Manila in 1993 andwas involved in the bombing of a Philippine airliner on 11 December1994 in which one Japanese citizen was killed and 10 others wereinjured. The group is linked to Ramzi Ahmad Yousef and Omar Ben