Buenos Aires attack in 1992

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plaza Embajada de Israel

The attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was a bomb attack against the Israeli embassy in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires .

procedure

It took place on March 17, 1992 at 2:42 pm. A pickup truck loaded with explosives , driven by a suicide bomber, drove into the embassy building on the corner of Calle Arroyo and Calle Suipacha and exploded. Four Israelis died in the attack, but most of the victims were Argentine civilians, including many children from a neighboring Catholic school.

A total of 29 people were killed and 242 people injured. The embassy building was destroyed and the neighboring Catholic church, a school and an old people's home were badly damaged. In addition, more than 400 homes and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged.

The terrorist attack was the worst in Argentine history. In the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, 87 people were killed and over 100 injured.

backgrounds

Islamic Jihad claimed to be responsible for the attack . The reason given was the death of Hezbollah Secretary General Abbas al-Musawi , whom the attackers viewed as a targeted killing . As evidence of the attack, they published an observation video of the embassy that was recorded shortly before the attack.

After the attack, Israel sent investigators to Argentina. They found out that the attack was planned in the border triangle of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, where many Shiites live. In 1996 the Argentine Academy of Engineering accused an Israeli embassy worker of setting the bomb himself. Two years later, however , a telephone conversation from the Iranian embassy intercepted by the US NSA revealed that those responsible for the bombing were from Iran and Lebanon, that Iran was aware of the plans and that they were complicit with Imad Mughniyya duration.

In May 1998, Moshen Rabbani (cultural attaché at the Iranian embassy in Argentina until December 1997) was arrested in Germany and the Argentine government expelled six Iranian diplomats on the grounds that they had unmistakable evidence that Iran was involved in the attack. However, none of the suspects were convicted. In fact, the attack came at a time when Iran and Argentina were hoping to resume cooperation on nuclear energy. However, a few months earlier Argentina had announced the postponement of a planned shipment of nuclear materials to Iran.

In 1999, the Argentine government issued an arrest warrant for Imad Mugniyah on suspicion of being linked to the attack and the assassination attempt on the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish community center in 1994. The two attacks are believed to be related. So far (as of March 2018) there have been no arrests of perpetrators or backers.

President Nestor Kirchner called these two attacks a “national disgrace” without any real investigation. He then had the investigations resumed, with the task of Juan José Galeano. At the same time, he lifted the ban on former secret service employees to testify as witnesses.

Commemoration

A memorial has been erected at the former location of the embassy in the Retiro district . In the small square there are 21 trees and 7 benches to commemorate the victims. A plaque in Spanish and Hebrew describes the event and names the victims.

Representatives of the Argentine government, including Vice President Gabriela Michetti , took part in the memorial ceremony on March 16, 2018 .

literature

  • Bergman, Ronen: 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

See also

Web links

Commons : Buenos Aires attack 1992  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bergman, p. 171
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Michael Studemund-Halévy: Handbook of Antisemitism - Anti-Semitism in Past and Present . Events, decrees, controversies. Ed .: Wolfgang Benz. tape 4 . De Gruyter Saur, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-598-24076-8 , pp. 1 .
  3. ↑ a b 1992 Patterns of Global Terrorism: The Year in Review
  4. ↑ Interview Robert Baer
  5. ↑ Islamic Jihad Says It Bombed Embassy; Great 21
  6. ↑ a b Bergman, p. 172
  7. ↑ Argentina's Iranian nuke connection , Gareth Porter , Nov 15, 2006
  8. ^ Norton, Augustus Richard, Hezbollah: A Short History, Princeton University Press, 2007, p. 79
  9. ↑ Israelnetz.de of March 19, 2018: Argentina commemorates attack on the Israeli embassy
  10. ↑ Dagbladet, August 28, 2003
  11. ↑ Israelnetz.de of March 19, 2018: Argentina commemorates attack on the Israeli embassy

Coordinates: 34 ° 35 ′ 29.6 ″  S , 58 ° 22 ′ 48.7 ″  W.