AMIA Bombing

From Free net encyclopedia

Revision as of 00:11, 8 April 2006; view current revision
←Older revision | Newer revision→

The AMIA bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association, or AMIA) building in Buenos Aires. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing and the largest single incident of terrorism against Jews since World War II. Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America (see Demographics of Argentina).

1 The bombing
2 Responsibility
3 The investigation
4 External links

[edit]

The bombing

On July 18, 1994, a powerful bomb made of ammonium nitrate was driven in a van through the front gates of the AMIA building in the Once district near downtown Buenos Aires. The building was a seven-story structure which was the headquarters of Argentina's Jewish community. The bomber detonated the bomb, levelling the building and reducing it to rubble, along with nearby buildings.

Eighty-five people died, most of them Jewish. More than three hundred others were wounded. The attack came two years after the 1992 Israeli Embassy Attack in Buenos Aires that killed 29, and a day before a bomber blew himself up on a Panamanian commuter plane, killing 12 Jews and 9 others. Eight days after the AMIA attack the Israeli Embassy in London was car-bombed by two Palestinians linked to Hezbollah.

In the days following the bombing, Israel sent Mossad agents to Argentina to investigate and Argentina closed its borders for fear more terrorists could enter. It is thought possible that the bombers entered Argentina through the Triple Frontier, where the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. Argentina's intelligence agency, the SIDE, is said to have set up a network of surveillance called "Centauro" in Paraguay, where many Muslim extremist cells are said to be located. In the years following the attack SIDE is said to have stopped another attack on Argentine soil.

[edit]

Responsibility

Hezbollah is believed to be behind the attack, with backing from Iran. Israeli diplomatic sources who read the "final" report by SIDE on the attack told said in 2003 that the attack was a suicide bombing carried out by Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a 29-year-old Muslim who has been honored with a plaque in southern Lebanon for his "martyrdom" on July 18, 1994, the date of the bombing. This was confirmed by SIDE, the FBI, and Berro's relatives in November 2005. [1]

A Lebanon-based group called "Partisans of God" claimed the AMIA blast, but this claim is discounted and Hezbollah is widely considered to be responsible. This claim is further supported by the 1999 arrest warrant issued against Hezbollah member Imad Mugniyah, in connection with this attack. In September 2003, Britain arrested an Iranian diplomat it said helped plan and finance the 1994 bombing.

[edit]

The investigation

Nobody has yet been convicted of the bombing and there have been many allegations made, including those blaming the government of Iran. There have also been allegations that former President Carlos Menem accepted money from the Iranian government to block the investigation, and even that Menem knew of the bomb plot beforehand.

On September 2 2004, all suspects in the "local connection" of AMIA case were found to be not guilty.

On August 3 2005, judge Juan José Galeano's impeachment was successful and he was formally removed from his post as a federal judge for irregularities and his mishandling of the investigation. Argentinian newspaper Clarín reports that charges will be pressed against him shortly. [2]

[edit]