Munich massacre

The Munich massacre was an attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September, who took nine members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage, after killing two of them previously, and killing them along with a West German police officer. Black September called the operation "Iqrit and Biram", after two Palestinian Christian villages whose inhabitants were expelled by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Black September commander was Luttif Afif, who was also the negotiator. West German neo-Nazis gave the group logistical assistance.
Shortly after the hostages were taken, Afif demanded the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners in Israel jails and the West German-held founders of the Red Army Faction, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof.
Five of the eight Black September members were killed during a failed attempt to rescue the hostages. A West German policeman was also killed in the crossfire. The three surviving perpetrators were Adnan Al-Gashey, Jamal Al-Gashey, and Mohammed Safady, who were arrested. The next month, however, following the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 615, the West German government released them in a hostage exchange. The Israeli government launched Operation Wrath of God, which authorised Mossad to track down and kill those involved in the Munich massacre.

More information

Comments Statistics

| | Public | Catalan • Dutch • French • German • Italian • Spanish