1983 Beirut barracks bombings
On October 23, 1983, two truck bombs were detonated at buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. The attack killed 307 people: 241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel, six civilians, and two attackers.
1983 Beirut barracks bombings
- 33°49′45″N 35°29′41″E / 33.82917°N 35.49472°E
United States Marine Corps barracks, Beirut Airport - 33°52′10″N 35°29′17″E / 33.86944°N 35.48806°E
'Drakkar' barracks of French 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, Ramlet al Baida, Beirut
October 23, 1983
06:22 am
Total: 307
- 241 US military personnel
- 58 French military personnel
- 6 civilians
- 2 suicide bombers
150
- Islamic Jihad Organization (claimed responsibility)
- Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Islamic Amal (court finding)
Early that Sunday morning, the first suicide bomber detonated a truck bomb at the building serving as a barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines (Battalion Landing Team – BLT 1/8) of the 2nd Marine Division, killing 220 marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers, making this incident the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II and the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Armed Forces since the first day of the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War.[1][2] Another 128 Americans were wounded in the blast. 13 later died of their injuries, and they are counted among the number who died.[3] An elderly Lebanese man, a custodian/vendor who was known to work and sleep in his concession stand next to the building, was also killed in the first blast.[4][1][5] The explosives used were later estimated to be equivalent to as much as 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg) of TNT.[6][7][8]
Minutes later, a second suicide bomber struck the nine-story Drakkar building, a few kilometers away, where the French contingent was stationed. 55 paratroopers from the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment and three paratroopers of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment were killed and 15 injured. It was the single worst French military loss since the end of the Algerian War.[9] The wife and four children of a Lebanese janitor at the French building were also killed, and more than twenty other Lebanese civilians were injured.[10]
A group called Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombings and said that the aim was to force the MNF out of Lebanon.[11] According to Caspar Weinberger, then United States Secretary of Defense, there is no knowledge of who did the bombing.[12] Some analysis highlights the role of Hezbollah and Iran, calling it "an Iranian operation from top to bottom".[13] There is no consensus on whether Hezbollah existed at the time of bombing.[14] The attacks eventually led to the withdrawal of the international peacekeeping force from Lebanon, where they had been stationed following the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) withdrawal in the aftermath of Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
Victims[edit]
The explosions resulted in 346 casualties, of which 234 (68%) were killed immediately, with head injuries, thoracic injuries and burns accounting for a large number of deaths.[71]
The New York Times printed a list of the identified casualties on October 26, 1983.[72] Another list of those who survived the incident was published by the Department of Defense. The information had to be re-printed, as individuals were misidentified, and family members were told incorrect statuses of their loved ones.[73]
Twenty-one U.S. soldiers who lost their lives in the bombing were buried in Section 59 at Arlington National Cemetery, near one of the memorials to all the victims.[74]
Aftermath[edit]
Search for perpetrators[edit]
At the time of the bombing, an obscure group called the "Islamic Jihad" claimed responsibility for the attack.[114][115] There were many in the U.S. government, such as Vice President Bush, Secretary of State George Shultz, and National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane, who was formerly Reagan's Mideast envoy, who believed Iran and/or Syria were/was responsible for the bombings.[116][117] After some years of investigation, the U.S. government now believes that elements of what would eventually become Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, were responsible for these bombings[115][118] as well as the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut earlier in April.[119][120]
It is believed that Hezbollah used the name "Islamic Jihad" to remain anonymous. Hezbollah eventually announced its existence in 1985.[121][122] This is while, according to President Reagan's Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, "We still do not have the actual knowledge of who did the bombing of the Marine barracks at the Beirut Airport, and we certainly didn't then."[14] Weinberger mentions lack of certainty about Syria or Iran's involvement as the reason why America did not take any retaliatory actions against those states.[12]
Hezbollah, Iran and Syria have continued to deny any involvement in any of the bombings. An Iranian group erected a monument in a cemetery in Tehran to commemorate the 1983 bombings and its "martyrs" in 2004.[41][123] Lebanese author Hala Jaber claims that Iran and Syria helped organize the bombing which was run by two Lebanese Shia, Imad Mughniyah and Mustafa Badr Al Din: