14 DAY TRIAL // The Syrian government has been ordered to pay $1 billion (€741 million) in damages to victims of two 1985 terrorist attacks.
Two shootings took place in separate airports, in Rome and Vienna. Both are linked to Syria, a US Magistrate Judge rules.
They would not have happened “without Syria’s direct support,” Judge John M. Facciola concluded. A report by the Inquisitr describes that, although the armed attacks were carried out by members of the Abu Nidal Organization, they were aided by Syria.
The country is set to compensate each one of 26 survivors or families of victims with $1 billion (€741 million). There are indications of the fact that the country will not be paying out said damages.
On December 1985, four men opened fire at the Israeli El Al Airlines and Trans World Airlines counters, in the Italian airport of Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino, near Rome. They were equipped with assault rifles and hand grenades, which they threw into the crowd.
The incident registered 16 casualties, and 99 people were injured. As Italian police intervened, three assailants were shot down, while a fourth was captured alive.
Almost simultaneously, other three men carried out a similar attack at Schwechat Airport in Vienna. Three people died and 39 were severely wounded in Austria.
While the shootings were at first attributed to PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization, leader Yasser Arafat never claimed or admitted to them. Police later pinpointed the Abu Nidal Organization as culprits.
They were allegedly avenging a bombing at PLO HQ by Israeli troops. The latter attack is known as Operation Wounded Leg.
Wikipedia indicates that the terrorists might have intended to hijack planes owned by the Israeli airline, in order to later detonate them in Tel Aviv. The theory has never been confirmed by witness testimonies.