Baghdad confirms Abu Nidal's suicide, details today
Iraq-Palestine, Politics, 8/21/2002

The Iraqi deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz solved the vagueness concerning the fate of the leader of the Palestinian revolutionary council Sabri al-Banna, known as Abu Nidal, and announced that he committed suicide in Baghdad.

Replying to a question on finding his body in a flat in Baghdad, Aziz said "yes. He committed suicide." Aziz did not give more details but said that a high ranking Iraqi official will meet today with journalists and will give all details concerning this issue. However, the statements of Tareq Aziz represent the first Iraqi official conformation on the end of Abu Nidal and his death.

Despite the Iraqi assertion, still, Abu Nidal's end is still in need of clarification on the reason behind his suicide, and whether the reports on finding foreign links related to him against Iraq, are correct or not.

Prior to the statements made by the Iraqi deputy premier, the fate of Abu Nidal ( 65 year old) was speculated.

There were two new stories on him being assassinated or killed at the hands of Iraqi security members which had suspected Abu Nidal's links with Iraqi opposition abroad or with Kuwait.

According to the same story which was broadcast by the CNN, a high ranking official in the Iraqi government confirmed to CNN official, currently visiting Baghdad the killing of Abu Nidal, noting he was under house arrest on the charge of conspiring against the Iraqi regime and that he committed suicide.

CNN quoted the Iraqi high ranking official who refused to be identified that Abu Nidal arrived few months ago into Iraq by forged papers coming from Iran., but he was very soon discovered by the Iraqi authorities and was put under house arrest. The Iraqi official added that investigations showed that Abu Nidal was conspiring against the Iraqi government and dealing with forces enemy to Iraq mentioning Kuwait among these forces.

The Iraqi official said, according to the CNN, that when the accusations were addressed to him, Abu Nidal chose suicide. The second story was stated by a high ranking Palestinian official who also asked not to be identified, noting he received his information from his own sources in Baghdad.

The Palestinian official said that Abu Nidal was killed or committed suicide when he was attacked by the Iraqi security members for accusations concerning hostile activities to the Iraqi government.

The official quoted Iraqi sources saying that Iraqi security members headed several days ago to Abu Nidal's house to inquire of him after the Iraqi authorities found out that he had opened a contact channel with Iraqi opposition in Syria and Jordan. He added that the Iraqi authorities were willing to put an end to these activities before the beginning of the likely expected American aggression against Iraq.

He continued that Abu Nidal went to bring in his weapons but it was not clear whether Abu Nidal had shot himself or was killed by the Iraqi security forces.

While sources in the Fatah movement- revolutionary council, indicated two days ago that Abu Nidal committed suicide because he had cancer, an official in the movement in Beirut stressed on Tuesday, prior to Aziz's statements that Abu Nidal is "in a good health condition." Meantime, Kuwait denied what was attributed to it in collaborating with Abu Nidal, stressing that what was issued by the media to this effect is totally false and is damaging to it.

An official source at the Kuwaiti foreign ministry said that "Kuwait, on the ground of its unwavering position to condemning all forms of terrorism regrets and denounced that such an alleged cooperation with Abu Nidal group is attributed to it."

Previous Stories:
  Al-Jazeera: The killing of Sabri al-Banna; Abu Nidal   (8/20/2002)
  Yasser Arafat, in Baghdad   (4/5/2002)
  A message from Arafat to the Iraqi President   (1/25/2002)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search