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Muslim Gunmen Say They Were Ready to Die : U.S. ‘Bowed to Demands,’ Hijackers Say

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United Press International

Two of the hijackers of TWA Flight 847 said Sunday that they delayed the release of their American captives by 24 hours because of threats by President Reagan and finally agreed to free them after Washington “bowed to our demands.”

Speaking to reporters inside the terminal at Beirut airport--where they held a three-man TWA crew for 16 days--the two hijackers also said they had expected to die during the crisis.

The crisis ended Sunday, when the 39 hostages were driven to Damascus, Syria, and then flown to an American military base in Frankfurt, West Germany.

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“We did this action that showed the world clearly the power of the oppressed to confront America and pursue its interests wherever they are,” said one of the two hijackers at the news conference.

“We did not think that we would go back to our kin and brothers, but we were hoping that God would allow us martyrdom for the sake of defending our nation and pride.”

The gunmen, who wore masks and spoke in Arabic, vanished after the news conference, and authorities did not attempt to stop them.

Two heavily armed men seized control of the TWA Boeing 727 on a flight from Athens-to Rome on June 14, and at least 10 other gunmen boarded the jetliner in Beirut. The hijackers are believed to be members of the extremist Shia Muslim group Hezbollah, or Party of God.

Amal Controlled Most

Most of the 39 American hostages were controlled by the more moderate Shia Muslim militia, Amal, headed by Nabih Berri, who was instrumental in negotiating their release.

But the hijackers Sunday contended that they--not Berri--decided to free the hostages and that it was their decision on Saturday to prolong the crisis by 24 hours.

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One hijacker said the gunmen planned to release the Americans in small groups in exchange for the gradual release of 735 Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.

The decision was made to free the Americans in one group Saturday after Syrian President Hafez Assad gave the hijackers “promises and assurances” that he had an “American pledge” the Lebanese prisoners would be freed, the gunman said.

But the release was delayed 24 hours because of “the stormy threats issued by Reagan in Chicago,” one of the hijackers said.

Reagan on Friday called the hijackers “thugs, murderers and barbarians” and raised the threat of U.S. retaliation.

In a carefully worded statement late Saturday, however, the State Department said “the United States reaffirms its longstanding support for the preservation of Lebanon, its government, its stability and its security and for the mitigation of the suffering of its people.”

“We got what we wanted when the American foreign ministry issued a statement, published in all the media in the world, that bowed to our demands,” the hijacker said.

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