ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

❘❘❙❚❚❙❘❘ A ❘❘❙❚❚❙❘❘Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) is identified by the UnitedStates Department of State as an international terroristorganization led by Sabri al-Banna. Split from the PalestineLiberation Army (PLO) in 1974, the ANO is comprisedof various functional committees, including political, military,and financial committees.The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) also operates as,or is known as; Fatah Revolutionary Council, Arab RevolutionaryBrigades, Black September, and RevolutionaryOrganization of Socialist Muslims.Organization activities. The ANO has carried out terroristattacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 persons.Targets have included the United States, the UnitedKingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO,and various Arab countries. Major attacks included theRome and Vienna airports in December 1985, the NeveShalom synagogue in Istanbul, and the Pan Am Flight 73hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, along with theCity of Poros day-excursion ship attack in Greece in July,1988. The ANO is suspected of assassinating PLO deputychief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul in Tunis inJanuary, 1991. ANO assassinated a Jordanian diplomat inLebanon in January, 1994, and has been linked to thekilling of the PLO representative there. As of May 2002, theANO has not attacked Western targets since the late 1980s.ANO leader Abu Nidal was found dead in Baghdad, Iraq inAugust 2002. Following Nidal’s death and subsequentdisruption of ANO by Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, thefate of the organization remained uncertain.Membership in the ANO is estimated at a few hundredplus a limited overseas support structure. Al-Bannarelocated to Iraq in December 1998, where the groupmaintains a presence. ANO has had an operational presencein Lebanon including in several Palestinian refugeeEncyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Securitycamps. Financial problems and internal disorganizationhave reduced the group’s activities and capabilities.Authorities shut down the ANO’s operations in Libya andEgypt in 1999. The ANO has demonstrated ability to operateover wide areas, including the Middle East, Asia, andEurope. They have also received considerable support,including safe haven, training, logistic assistance, andfinancial aid from Iraq, Libya, and Syria (until 1987), inaddition to close support for selected operations.❚ FURTHER READING:ELECTRONIC:Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook, 2002. (April 16, 2003).Taylor, Francis X. U.S. Department of State. Patterns ofGlobal Terrorism 2001, Annual Report: On the recordbriefing. May 21, 2002 (April 17,2003).U.S. Department of State. Annual reports. (April 16, 2003).SEE ALSOTerrorism, Philosophical and Ideological OriginsTerrorist and Para-State OrganizationsTerrorist Organization List, United StatesTerrorist Organizations, Freezing of AssetsAbu Sayyaf Group (ASG)The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is the most violent of theIslamic separatist groups operating in the southern Philippines.Some ASG leaders have studied or worked in theMiddle East and reportedly fought in Afghanistan duringthe Soviet war. The group split from the Moro NationalLiberation Front in the early 1990s under the leadership of1