Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires
Encyclopedia
The attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was a bomb
attack on building of the Israel
i embassy of Argentina
located in Buenos Aires
which was carried out on March 17, 1992. 29 civilians were killed in the attack and 242 additional civilians were injured.
driven by a suicide bomber and loaded with explosives smashed into the front of the Israeli Embassy located on the corner of Arroyo and Suipacha, and detonated. The embassy, a Catholic church, and a nearby school building were destroyed. Four Israelis died, but most of the victims were Argentine civilians, many of them children.
The blast killed 29 and wounded 242. It was Argentina's deadliest terror attack until the AMIA Bombing
of 1994, and as of 2008 it remains the deadliest attack on an Israeli diplomatic mission.
, which has been linked to Iran
and possibly Hezbollah, claimed responsibility; their stated motive for the attack was Israel's assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Abbas al-Musawi
in February, which in turn was in retaliation for the kidnapping and death of missing Israeli servicemen in 1986 and abduction of US Marine and UN peace-keeping officer William R. Higgins
in 1988.
Islamic Jihad also released surveillance footage they took of the embassy before the blast.
After the bombing, Israel sent investigators to Argentina to search for clues. They learned that the bombers planned the attack in the Tri-Border area
, where the borders of Argentina, Paraguay
, and Brazil
meet and which has a large Shia Muslim population. Messages intercepted by the American National Security Agency
revealed Iranian knowledge of the impending attack, as well as the complicity of Hezbollah operative Imad Mugniyeh.
In May 1998, Moshen Rabbani, (the Cultural Attaché in the Iranian Embassy in Argentina until December 1997) was detained in Germany, and the Argentine government expelled seven Iranian diplomats from the country, stating that it had "convincing proof" of Iranian involvement in the bombing. However, none of the suspects have been prosecuted. In fact the attack occurred when Iran and Argentina were hoping for a resumption of nuclear cooperation, although Argentina had announced the suspension of the shipments of nuclear materials to Iran a couple months before the bombing. A number of sources report on Hezbollah involvement with the assistance of Syria
. Hezbollah denies these claims.
In 1999, the Argentinian government issued an arrest warrant for Imad Mugniyah
in connection with this attack and the 1994 AMIA Bombing
in Buenos Aires
, which killed 85. It is suspected that the two attacks are linked.
pronounced that allowing these two incidents to happen, with no real inquiries to be followed, equaled a "national disgrace." He reopened, and kept open files from these incidents, most to be read by Justice Juan Jose Galeano. In the same process Kirchner hoped to lift the ban for former Intelligence Officers (Argentine) to testify. The current President of Argentina (his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
) has also claimed to want to get to the bottom of the case.
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
attack on building of the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i embassy of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
located in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
which was carried out on March 17, 1992. 29 civilians were killed in the attack and 242 additional civilians were injured.
The attack
On March 17, 1992. At 2:42 pm (UTC-3), a pickup truckPickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
driven by a suicide bomber and loaded with explosives smashed into the front of the Israeli Embassy located on the corner of Arroyo and Suipacha, and detonated. The embassy, a Catholic church, and a nearby school building were destroyed. Four Israelis died, but most of the victims were Argentine civilians, many of them children.
The blast killed 29 and wounded 242. It was Argentina's deadliest terror attack until the AMIA Bombing
AMIA Bombing
The AMIA bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, that killed 85 people and injured hundreds. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing...
of 1994, and as of 2008 it remains the deadliest attack on an Israeli diplomatic mission.
Responsibility
A group called Islamic Jihad OrganizationIslamic Jihad Organization
The Islamic Jihad Organization – IJO or Organisation du Jihad Islamique in French, but best known as ‘Islamic Jihad’ for short, was a fundamentalist Shia group known for its activities in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War...
, which has been linked to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and possibly Hezbollah, claimed responsibility; their stated motive for the attack was Israel's assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Abbas al-Musawi
Abbas al-Musawi
Abbas al-Musawi was an influential Shia cleric and co-founder and Secretary General of Hezbollah. He was killed by Israeli forces in 1992.Al-Musawi was born in the village of al-Nabi Shayth in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon....
in February, which in turn was in retaliation for the kidnapping and death of missing Israeli servicemen in 1986 and abduction of US Marine and UN peace-keeping officer William R. Higgins
William R. Higgins
William Richard "Rich" Higgins was a United States Marine Corps colonel who was captured in 1988 while serving on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He was held hostage, tortured and eventually murdered by his captors.-Biography:William Higgins was born in Danville, Kentucky on...
in 1988.
Islamic Jihad also released surveillance footage they took of the embassy before the blast.
After the bombing, Israel sent investigators to Argentina to search for clues. They learned that the bombers planned the attack in the Tri-Border area
Triple Frontier
The Triple Frontier is a tri-border area along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. Near the convergence are the cities of Ciudad del Este, Alto Paraná; Puerto Iguazú, Misiones and Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná...
, where the borders of Argentina, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
meet and which has a large Shia Muslim population. Messages intercepted by the American National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
revealed Iranian knowledge of the impending attack, as well as the complicity of Hezbollah operative Imad Mugniyeh.
In May 1998, Moshen Rabbani, (the Cultural Attaché in the Iranian Embassy in Argentina until December 1997) was detained in Germany, and the Argentine government expelled seven Iranian diplomats from the country, stating that it had "convincing proof" of Iranian involvement in the bombing. However, none of the suspects have been prosecuted. In fact the attack occurred when Iran and Argentina were hoping for a resumption of nuclear cooperation, although Argentina had announced the suspension of the shipments of nuclear materials to Iran a couple months before the bombing. A number of sources report on Hezbollah involvement with the assistance of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. Hezbollah denies these claims.
In 1999, the Argentinian government issued an arrest warrant for Imad Mugniyah
Imad Mugniyah
Imad Fayez Mughniyah , also transliterated Mughniyya, Mughniyeh, Mogniyah, , alias Hajj Radwan , was a senior member of Lebanon's Hezbollah organisation. He was alternatively described as the head of its security section, a senior intelligence official and as a founder of the organisation...
in connection with this attack and the 1994 AMIA Bombing
AMIA Bombing
The AMIA bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, that killed 85 people and injured hundreds. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing...
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, which killed 85. It is suspected that the two attacks are linked.
Kirchner on the case
When he was president, Néstor KirchnerNéstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
pronounced that allowing these two incidents to happen, with no real inquiries to be followed, equaled a "national disgrace." He reopened, and kept open files from these incidents, most to be read by Justice Juan Jose Galeano. In the same process Kirchner hoped to lift the ban for former Intelligence Officers (Argentine) to testify. The current President of Argentina (his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
) has also claimed to want to get to the bottom of the case.
Commemoration
Today there is a memorial set up in place of where the building stood. In the memorial plaza stand twenty one trees and seven benches in memory of the victims. A plaque describing the event and listing the victims is located in the memorial in both Hebrew and Spanish.See also
- Secretaría de InteligenciaSecretaría de InteligenciaSecretaría de Inteligencia is the premier intelligence agency of the Argentine Republic and head of its National Intelligence System....
- AMIA BombingAMIA BombingThe AMIA bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, that killed 85 people and injured hundreds. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing...
- Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901, registry HP-1202AC, was an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft flying en-route from Colón city to Panama city which exploded shortly after departing Enrique Adolfo Jiménez Airport, on the night of July 19, 1994. All 21 on board, including 12 Jews, were killed in the...
- History of the Jews in ArgentinaHistory of the Jews in ArgentinaThe history of the Jews of Argentina goes back to the days of the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition, when Jews fleeing persecution settled in what is now Argentina. Many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata were Jewish, but an organized Jewish community...
- Argentina – Israel relations
- Attack on the embassy of Israel in London
Sources
- Bergman, RonenRonen BergmanRonen Bergman is an Israeli investigative journalist and author. He is Currently a senior political and military analyst for Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s largest-circulation daily.Mr...
. The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World's Most Dangerous Terrorist Power. Simon and Schuster, 2008. ISBN 1-4165-5839-X