The 1972 Munich Olympics:
The Darkest Day in Olympic History
  • Home
    • Thesis
    • Rights
    • Responsibilities >
      • International Olympic Committee
  • The 20th Olympiad
    • Opening Ceremony
    • The Olympic Village
  • Background
    • The Black September Terrorists
    • Israeli Conflicts >
      • The Arab-Israeli War of 1948
      • The Six Day War
      • The Yom Kippur War
  • What Went Wrong
    • Security
    • The Israeli Team
  • Aftermath
    • Israeli Response
    • IOC Response
    • Future Olympic Games
    • Conclusion >
      • Memorials
      • Released Archives
  • Paperwork
    • Interview Transcript
    • Process Paper
    • Bibliography

The Black September Terrorists

The Black September Organization (BSO), whose bases of operation include Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank/Gaza, was formed in 1971 as a clandestine wing of al-Fatah.  Black September was led by Abu Iyad, a commander in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and its operations were personally approved by Yasser Arafat, the leader of the PLO and the future Palestinian Authority.  BSO was founded with the objective to avenge the expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Jordan in September of 1970.  This time was referred to as "Black September," hence the name chosen by the Black September Organization.  While Black September was originally described as a splinter group of al-Fatah, direct linkages between the groups were revealed with the arrests of BSO agents.  Al-Fatah formed Black September in order to circumvent an al-Fatah declaration that they would not interfere in the domestic policies of Arab nations.  However, some al-Fatah members planned to assassinate King Hussein, ruler of Jordan from 1953 to 1999. Hence, Black September was partially formed in order to pursue this specific objective.

While Black September failed several times to assassinate King Hussein, the group is notorious for a number of brutal, high-profile terrorist incidents.  Black September expanded their list of targets from the Jordanian government to include Israeli and U.S. citizens and facilities.  The group also carried out attacks against general "Western" targets.  Black September is infamous for its attack against Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Munich Olympics.  In retaliation for the attacks against Israel citizens and facilities, Israel launched a significant response to eliminate the terrorist organization. Israeli security forces retaliated against BSO terrorists in Western Europe and Lebanon.  Following the Israeli response, al-Fatah dissolved Black September in December 1974.
 
The following Black September terrorists were involved in the Munich Massacre.

   •   Luttif Afif  known as 'Issa’ – the leader 
   •   Yusuf Naszzal called ‘Tony’
   •   Afif Ahmed Hamid
   •   Khalid Jamal 
   •   Ahmed Chic Thaa 
   •   Mohammed Safady
   •   Adnan Al-Gashey 
   •   Jamal Al-Gashey

Mohammed Daoud Oudeh also known as 'Abu Daoud' – was the mastermind behind the Munich massacre but was not present.

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  Daniel Sullivan
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