The Hindu : Arrest of Palestinian, a big catch: U.S.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 17, 2003

International

International

Arrest of Palestinian, a big catch: U.S.

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington April 16. The U.S. has confirmed the arrest of Abul Abbas, notorious leader of a Palestinian group that in 1985 hijacked a cruise liner, Achille Lauro, killed an American passenger and threw him into the sea. "He got away from us and we have been chasing him ever since. He's a big catch for us. It's an old score to settle,'' a former top counterintelligence official of the CIA has said.

What is being said here is that American commandos and special forces raided several sites in the southern outskirts of Baghdad and nabbed Abbas and several of his associates. Several documents including Yemeni and Lebanese passports and a cache of weapons like rocket-propelled grenades were also found. Abul Abbas, known as Mohammad Abbas, was the head of the Palestine Liberation Front and was first headquartered in Tunisia.

After the attack on Achille Lauro, it relocated to Iraq. But successive U.S. administrations were tracking him for the murder of the Jewish American passenger and the U.S. President, George W Bush, mentioned Abbas by name last October while making a case for getting rid of Saddam Hussein from power.

"Iraq has...provided safe haven to Abul Abbas who was responsible for seizing the Achille Lauro and killing an American passenger. And we know that Iraq is continuing to finance terror and gives assistance to groups that use terrorism to undermine Middle East (West Asia) Peace,'' he said. Israel, which has been keeping a close tab on Abbas, nabbed several Palestinians trained at the PLF camp in Iraq and said that those captured were instructed by Abbas to attack an airport and other targets in Israel.

Further, it was generally believed that Iraq used Abbas and the PLF as a conduit for payments to families of suicide bombers. The high drama in October 1985 ended when Egypt negotiated the release of the cruise liner and surrender of four hijackers who were flown out of Egypt. But that jet was intercepted by U.S. Navy fighters and forced to land in Sicily which touched off a diplomatic tussle between the U.S. and Italy.

Italy refused to detain Abbas for two reasons: that the evidence compiled against him by the U.S. was insufficient; and that he held an Iraqi diplomatic passport. But Abbas managed to slip out of the country and Italian authorities filed charges against him and issued a warrant of arrest which remains active. In 1986, Abbas was tried in absentia and sentenced to life in prison for masterminding the hijacking. The U.S. officials have not said if Abbas will continue to be detained in Iraq or taken to another country. At this time, officials are tight-lipped on where Abbas will face charges, in particular if the U.S. Justice Department will be keen on getting him for the murder of the American.

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