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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
1995 APRIL: PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, 1994
Department of State Publication 10239
Office of the Secretary
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Philip C. Wilcox, Jr.
STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM OVERVIEW
CONTENTS
The provision of funding, safehaven, and weapons and logistic support to
terrorists by sovereign states is crucial to the operation of many
international terrorist organizations. Such support continues in
defiance of the international community's unequivocal condemnation of
terrorism and those who support it. Recognizing the danger that such
support represents, a primary aim of our counterterrorism policy has
been to apply pressure to such states to stop that support and to make
them pay the cost if they persist. We do this by publicly identifying
state sponsors and by imposing economic, diplomatic, and sometimes
military sanctions. Seven nations are designated as states that sponsor
international terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan,
and Syria.
Cuba is no longer able to actively support armed struggle in Latin
America and other parts of the world as the Castro regime has become
preoccupied with its struggle for existence. Although there is no
evidence of direct sponsorship of terrorist acts in 1994, Havana does
provide safehaven for several international terrorists. Cuba has not
renounced political support for groups that engage in international
terrorism.
Iran is still the most active state sponsor of international terrorism.
Iranian terrorist operations concentrate on Iranian dissidents living
outside Iran. While Tehran has tried to moderate its public image in the
West, Iran continues to use terrorism as ruthlessly as it did under
Khomeini and supports groups, such as Hizballah, that pose a threat to
Americans. In December, a French court handed down a decision in the
trial of three Iranians accused of participating in the 1991 murder of
former Iranian Prime Minister Bakhtiar and an assistant. One was
sentenced to life and one to 10 years in prison, while the third, an
employee of the Iranian Embassy in Bern, was acquitted. Iran remains
committed to carrying out the death sentence imposed on British author
Salman Rushdie. Iran's main client, Hizballah, could well have been
responsible for the 18 July bombing of the Argentine-Israel Mutual
Association (AMIA) that left nearly 100 persons dead. Iran supports many
other radical organizations that have resorted to terrorism, such as the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), HAMAS, and the Popular Front for the
Liberation of PalestineöGeneral Command (PFLP-GC).
Throughout 1994 Iraq remained out of compliance with UN Security Council
resolutions, including those requiring it to renounce terrorism. Iraq
continued its terrorist attacks against political dissidents, both at
home and abroad. It also continued its terrorist war of attrition aimed
at driving UN and other foreign aid agencies out of northern Iraq and
depriving the Kurdish population of relief supplies. There were at least
17 attacks against UN and international relief personnel reported in
1994. Iraq continues to provide safehaven and training facilities for
several terrorist organizations, including Abu Abbas' Palestine
Liberation Front (PLF), the ANO, and the Arab Liberation Front (ALF). In
June, a Kuwaiti court rendered verdicts in the trial of the 14
individuals accused of participating in the plot to assassinate former
President Bush during his April 1993 visit to Kuwait.
Libya continued to defy the demands of UN Security Council resolutions
adopted in response to Tripoli's involvement in the bombings of Pan Am
Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772. The resolutions demand that Tripoli turn
over the two Libyan intelligence agents suspected of carrying out the
bombing plot for trial either in a US or UK court, pay compensation to
the victims, cooperate in the ongoing investigation, and cease all
support for terrorism. Available evidence suggests Libya was behind the
disappearance of prominent Libyan dissident and human rights activist
Mansour Kikhia from his hotel room in Egypt in December 1993. Leaders of
terrorist groups HAMAS and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) publicly
announced that Qadhafi had pledged to provide them with aid for the
"Liberation of Palestine."
North Korea is not known to have sponsored any international terrorist
attacks since 1987, when it conducted the midflight bombing of a KAL
airliner. North Korea has publicly condemned terrorism but maintains
contact with groups that practice terrorism and continues to provide
sanctuary to Japanese Communist LeagueöRed Army Faction terrorists who
hijacked a Japan Airlines flight to North Korea in 1970.
While there is no evidence that the Government of Sudan conducted or
sponsored a specific act of terrorism in 1994, the regime provided
safehaven and support for members of several international terrorist
groups operating in Sudan. These include some of the world's most
violent organizations: the ANO, the Lebanese Hizballah, HAMAS, the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Egypt's Islamic Group. Some of
Sudan's neighbors have complained that insurgents in North Africa have
received training, funds, weapons, travel documents and indoctrination
from Sudan. In December, Eritrea severed diplomatic relations with Sudan
for its support for subversive activities and hostile acts. Sudan turned
over the international terrorist Carlos to France in August, after
offering him safehaven in Khartoum since late 1993. The regime has
stated that the turnover was a one-time occurrence and would not affect
other terrorists currently harbored in Sudan.
There is no evidence that Syrian officials have been directly involved
in planning or executing terrorist attacks since 1986, but Syria
continues to provide safehaven and support, inside Syria or in areas of
Lebanon under Syrian control, for terrorist groups such as Ahmad
Jibril's PFLP-GC, HAMAS, PIJ, the Japanese Red Army, and the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK). Syria also permits Iran to resupply Hizballah via
Damascus. Nevertheless, Damascus continues to restrain the international
activities of some of these groups.
The Castro regime, which is preoccupied with its existence, is no longer
able to support armed struggle actively in Latin America and other parts
of the world. In years past, Havana provided significant levels of
military training, weapons, funds, and guidance to leftist subversives.
Currently, the regime's focus is largely on economic survival, and the
government is attempting to upgrade diplomatic and trade relations
within Latin America. Cuba's economy continued to deteriorate, and a
large antiregime demonstration broke out for the first time in 1994.
Although there is no evidence that Cuban officials have been directly
involved in sponsoring a specific act of terrorism during the past year,
Havana did provide safehaven in 1994 to several terrorists in Cuba. A
number of ETA Basque terrorists who sought sanctuary in Cuba several
years ago continue to live on the island. Some of the more than 40
Chilean terrorists from the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) who
escaped from a Chilean prison in 1990 also probably still reside in
Cuba. Colombia's two main guerrilla groups, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN),
reportedly maintain representatives in Havana.
Iran is still the most active state sponsor of international terrorism
and continues to be directly involved in planning and executing
terrorist acts. This year Tehran seems to have maintained its terrorist
activities at the level of 1993, when there were four confirmed and two
possible Iranian attacks on dissidents living outside Iran. Iranian
terrorist operations concentrate on Iranian dissidents, particularly
members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and the Kurdish Democratic Party
of Iran (KDPI). Iran supports extremist Palestinian groups that have
used terrorism to try to halt the Middle East peace process. Tehran also
gives varying degrees of assistance to an assortment of radical Islamic
and secular groups from North Africa to Central Asia.
While President Rafsanjani has tried to moderate Iran's public image to
expand its economic and political ties to Western Europe and Japan, Iran
continues to use terrorism as ruthlessly as it did under Khomeini.
Tehran supports groups, such as its main client Hizballah, that pose a
threat to Americans. Due to the continuing threat from Tehran and
Hizballah, American diplomatic missions and personnel remain at risk.
Confirmed attacks on Iranian dissidents in the past year include the
following: the 7 January killing of Taha Kirmeneh, a dissident who was a
member of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), by gunmen in
Coru, Turkey; the 10 January wounding of a member of the KDPI by a
letter bomb in Stockholm, Sweden; the killing of a KDPI leader in
Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, on 10 March; and the killing of two members of the
Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) in Qabbiyah, Iraq, while driving to Baghdad on
29 May. While the MEK has been victimized by Iranian terrorism, the
group has itself employed terrorist tactics.
The 24 June murder of dissident Osman Muhammed Amini at his home in
Copenhagen and the 12 November murder of dissident Ali Mohammed Assadi
in Bucharest may also have been carried out at the Iranian Government's
behest.
On 6 December, a French court handed down a decision in the trial of
three Iranians accused of participating in the 1991 murder of former
Iranian Prime Minister Bakhtiar and an assistant. One defendant received
life imprisonment. A second, an Iranian radio correspondent who is
reputed to be a nephew of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, was sentenced to
10 years in jail. The third, an employee of the Iranian Embassy in Bern,
was acquitted.
Iran remains committed to implementation of the death sentence imposed
on British author Salman Rushdie. When speaking to Western audiences,
Iranian leaders claim that the fatwa (or religious finding) against
Rushdie is a religious matter that does not involve the Government of
Iran.
However, the Iranian Government continued its propaganda campaign
against Rushdie. In February, the fifth anniversary of the fatwa, Tehran
Radio stated that "The least punishment for (Rushdie)ˇisˇhis execution."
Ayatollah Hassan Sanei, the head of a quasi-governmental foundation that
has offered a $2 million reward for the murder of Rushdie, said that
supporters of Rushdie who campaign for the lifting of the fatwa deserved
to be "punished." A Revolutionary Guards official vowed publicly that
the death sentence would be carried out. The influence of this campaign
has been felt outside Iran. In September, the head of a Muslim
organization in Norway threatened to kill Rushdie if he attended a
conference on freedom of expression in Stavanger.
Iran is also the world's preeminent state sponsor of extremist Islamic
and Palestinian groups, providing funds, weapons, and training.
Hizballah, Iran's closest client, could well have been responsible for
the 18 July bombing of the Argentine Israel Mutual Association that left
nearly 100 persons dead. This operation was virtually identical to the
one conducted in March 1992 against the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires,
for which Hizballah claimed responsibility. Hizballah had stated that it
would seek retaliation against Israel for the kidnapping of a well-known
Lebanese Shia terrorist and the Israeli airstrike in June on a Hizballah
camp in Lebanon that killed more than 20 militants.
Iran supports many other radical organizations that have engaged in
terrorism. Tehran opposes any compromise with or recognition of Israel
and, as the peace process moves ahead, has worked to coordinate a
rejectionist front to oppose the Israeli-PLO accords, particularly with
the PIJ, the PFLP-GC, and HAMAS, as well as Hizballah.
Tehran continues to provide safehaven to the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) in Iran. The PKK -- seeking to establish a Kurdish
state in southeastern Turkey -- in 1994 conducted a violent campaign
against Turkish tourism, including attacks on tourist spots frequented
by foreigners, while continuing unabated the use of terrorism against
Turkish citizens, including ethnic Kurds.
Iraq continued to engage in state-sponsored internal and international
terrorism in 1994. It is rebuilding its ability to mount terrorist
attacks abroad, despite financial and diplomatic constraints imposed in
the wake of the Gulf war.
The Government of Iraq provides safehaven and logistic support to
several terrorist groups and individuals, including elements of the ANO,
based in Lebanon; the Mojahedin-e Khalq, which is opposed to the
government in Tehran; Abu Abbas' Palestine Liberation Front (PLF); and
notorious bomb-maker Abu Ibrahim. Both Abbas and Ibrahim enjoy sanctuary
in Iraq.
Political killings and terrorist actions are directed against civilians,
foreign relief workers, journalists, and opposition leaders. On 12
April, a prominent Iraqi expatriate oppositionist residing in Beirut,
Lebanon, was assassinated. The Government of Lebanon stated that it had
firm evidence linking the killing to the Government of Iraq and arrested
two Iraqi diplomats in connection with the incident. Lebanon
subsequently broke diplomatic relations with Iraq.
Since 1991, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, the
Government of Iraq has obstructed the international community's
provision of humanitarian assistance. We believe that Iraq is
responsible for more than 100 attacks on relief personnel and aid
convoys over the past four years. Moreover, the Government of Iraq has
offered monetary "bounties" to anyone who assassinates UN and other
international relief workers.
A German journalist and her Kurdish bodyguard were shot to death on 3
April in an ambush near Suleymaniya. Kurdish authorities arrested
several suspects who reportedly confessed that the government had paid
them to commit the murders. Several other international personnel,
including UN guards and journalists, were critically injured in bombing
and shooting attacks. At least 16 such attacks were reported. On 2
January, two UN vehicles were fired on while approaching the Aski Kalak
bridge between Mosul and Irbil. One vehicle was hit seven times. On 21
January a handmade device using TNT exploded in the garden of a UN
residence. Two Swedish journalists were injured on 14 March near Aqrah
when a bomb exploded under their car. On 24 May two vehicles carrying
representatives from the NGO OXFAM were shot at while returning to
Suleymaniyah from a UN-NGO meeting in Salaheddin. On 1 June handgrenades
were thrown at a warehouse in Suleymaniyah belonging to the French
relief group Equilibre.
In July, three members of a prominent Shi'a family, the al-Khoeis, and
their driver died under suspicious circumstances in an automobile crash
in southern Iraq, near Al Najaf. Evidence points to involvement by the
Government of Iraq. The al-Khoei family had long been targeted for
harassment and abuse by the government.
On 4 June, a Kuwaiti court returned verdicts in the trial of the 14
individuals accused of participation in the plot to assassinate former
President Bush during his April 1993 visit to Kuwait. Six of the 14 were
sentenced to death, seven were sentenced to prison for terms ranging
from six months to 12 years, and one was acquitted.
The Libyan regime continued to defy the demands of UN Security Council
Resolutions 731, 748, and 883 adopted in response to Tripoli's
involvement in the bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772.
UNSCR 731 was adopted following the November 1991 indictments by British
and US authorities of two Libyan intelligence agents for their role in
the 1988 Pan Am bombing. The resolution incorporated US and British
demands that Tripoli turn over the two suspects for trial in either a US
or UK court, pay compensation to the victims, cooperate in the ongoing
investigation, and cease all support for terrorism. UNSCR 731 also
demanded that Tripoli cooperate with French authorities in their
separate investigation of the UTA 772 bombing in 1989.
In April 1992, UNSCR 748 imposed sanctions against the Libyan regime for
its refusal to comply with the demands of UNSCR 731. Those sanctions
involved embargoing Libyan civil aviation and military procurement
efforts, as well as requiring all states to reduce Libya's diplomatic
presence. In November 1993, UNSCR 883 imposed additional sanctions to
increase the pressure on Libya to comply with previous demands. The 883
sanctions added a limited assets freeze and oil technology ban and
strengthened existing sanctions.
By the end of 1994, Libya had taken no serious steps toward compliance
with any of the UNSC demands. Instead, the Libyan regime continued to
propose half measures and "compromise" solutions to the trial venue for
the two suspects. Tripoli's proposals appeared disingenuous from the
start, as none satisfy the demands of UNSC resolutions or meet the
requirements of American or British judicial systems.
Even while Libya continued its efforts to convince international public
opinion that it had abandoned terrorism, Qadhafi and his senior advisers
vehemently attacked the Libyan opposition, calling them "stray dogs" and
publicly threatening them. Indeed, available evidence strongly suggests
Libya was behind the disappearance of prominent Libyan dissident and
human rights activist, Mansour Kikhia, from his hotel room in Egypt in
December 1993.
Throughout 1994, Tripoli demonstrated its willingness to support groups
that oppose Western interests with terrorism. Qadhafi repeatedly urged
radical rejectionists of the Middle East peace process to use "whatever
means" possible to oppose it. Libya opened its arms to leaders of well-
known militant groups opposed to the Gaza-Jericho accord and hosted
several meetings of the rejectionist groups in 1994. In addition, Libya
hailed the 19 October bus-bombing attack in Tel Aviv by HAMAS as a
"courageous operation." In addition, the leaders of HAMAS and the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad publicly announced that Qadhafi had pledged to
provide them with aid for the "liberation of Palestine."
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is not
known to have sponsored any international terrorist attacks since 1987,
when it conducted the midflight bombing of a KAL airliner. A North
Korean spokesman in April 1993 condemned all forms of terrorism,
including state terrorism, and said his country resolutely opposed the
encouragement and support of terrorism. Nevertheless, North Korea
maintains contact with groups that practice terrorism and continues to
provide political sanctuary to members of the Japanese Communist Leagueö
Red Army Faction who hijacked a Japan Airlines flight to North Korea in
1970.
The Government of Sudan provided safehaven and support for members of
several international terrorist groups operating in Sudan. The regime
also permitted Tehran to use Sudan as a secure transit point and meeting
site for Iranian-backed extremist groups. There is no evidence that
Sudan, which is dominated by the National Islamic Front (NIF), conducted
or sponsored a specific act of terrorism in 1994.
The list of groups that maintain a presence or operate in Sudan is
disturbing and includes some of the world's most violent organizations:
the ANO, the Lebanese Hizballah, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance
Movement (HAMAS), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Egypt's
Islamic Group. The NIF also supports Islamic opposition groups from
Algeria, Tunisia, Kenya, and Eritrea. Some of Sudan's neighbors have
complained that insurgents in North Africa have received assistance from
Sudan in the form of training, funds, weapons, travel documents, and
indoctrination. In December, Eritrea severed diplomatic relations with
Sudan for its support for subversive activities and hostile acts.
In a positive development, Sudan turned over the international terrorist
"Carlos" (Ilyich Ramirez Sanchez) to France in August. Carlos -- who
bragged about his ties to senior government officials, carried a weapon,
and flaunted Sudan's laws -- had been living in Sudan since late 1993 with
full knowledge and protection of senior levels of the NIF and Sudanese
Government.
While the reasons for the expulsion of Carlos are not entirely clear,
the regime emphasized that the affair did not signal a shift in Sudanese
policy and that the fate of Carlos would not affect other terrorist
elements currently harbored in Sudan. President Bashir stated publicly
it was Sudan's duty to protect "mujahedin" who sought refuge. In a press
interview on the suicide bus bombing in Tel Aviv by a HAMAS militant in
October, which left 22 persons dead, NIF leader Hassan Turabi praised
the attack, calling it "an honorable act."
The Sudanese regime regularly denied there are terrorists in Sudan, and
it refused to investigate information the US Ambassador supplied in
September about the training of terrorists at the Merkhiyat Popular
Defense camp located northwest of Khartoum. The Foreign Minister
categorically dismissed the information without even offering to look
into it.
There is no evidence that Syrian officials have been directly involved
in planning or executing terrorist attacks since 1986. Damascus is
publicly committed to the Middle East peace process and has taken some
steps to restrain the international activities of these groups. Syria
also uses its influence with Hizballah to limit outbreaks of violence on
the border between Lebanon and Israel, but permits Iran to resupply
Hizballah via Damascus.
However, Syria continues to provide safehaven and support for several
groups that engage in international terrorism; spokesmen for some of
these groups have publicly claimed responsibility for attacks in Israel
and the occupied territories. Several radical terrorist groups maintain
training camps or other facilities on Syrian territory. Ahmad Jibril's
PFLP-GC has its headquarters near Damascus. In addition, Damascus grants
a wide variety of groups engaged in terrorism basing privileges or
refuge in areas of Lebanon's Bekaa Valley under Syrian control: these
include HAMAS, the PFLP-GC, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the
Japanese Red Army (JRA).
The terrorist group PKK continues to train in the Bekaa Valley, and its
leader, Abdullah Ocalan, resides at least part-time in Syria. The PKK in
1994 conducted a violent campaign against Turkish tourist spots
frequented by foreigners, as well as other terrorist violence across
Europe. Syrian safehaven for PKK operations was vigorously protested by
Turkey and is the subject of discussions between Syria and Turkey.
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