Middle East Information Resource
Political Entities - Abu Nidal Organization
The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) is an international terrorist organization led by Sabri al-Banna. It split from PLO in 1974, and is composed of various functional committees, including political, military, and financial. It is also variously known as the Fatah Revolutionary Council, the Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, and the Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims.
The Abu Nidal Organization has carried out terrorist attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 persons. Targets include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, some moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and Arab countries as well. Major attacks included the Rome and Vienna airports in December 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul, a Pan Am flight 73 hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, and the attack against a day-excursion ship in Poros Greece in July 1988. The organization is suspected of the assassination of PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul in Tunis in January 1991. It assassinated a Jordanian diplomat in Lebanon in January 1994 and has been linked to the killing of the PLO representative there. It has not attacked Western targets since the late 1980`s.
Sabri al-Banna relocated to Iraq in December 1998, where the group maintains a presence. It has an operational presence in Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley and several Palestinian refugee camps in coastal areas of Lebanon. It also has limited resources in Sudan, Syria, and elsewhere, but financial problems and internal disorganization have reduced the group`s effectiveness.
Authorities shut down the ANO`s operations in Libya and Egypt in 1999, but it has demonstrated an ability to operate over a wide geographic area, including the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. The group has manpower resources ammounting to a few hundred. It has received considerable support, including safehaven, training, logistic assistance, and financial aid from Iraq, Libya, and Syria until 1987. In addition, it has had close support for selected operations.