Palestinian Terrorist Is Dead, Iraq Confirms
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BAGHDAD — Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz confirmed Tuesday that Palestinian guerrilla commander and terrorist mastermind Abu Nidal had died in Baghdad, saying he had killed himself.
“Yes, I confirm his suicide, and an official will give you full details Wednesday,” Aziz told reporters.
On Monday, two senior Palestinian officials said Abu Nidal--who had targeted Israelis, Palestine Liberation Organization figures, and Arab officials who sought rapprochement with Israel--had been found dead of gunshot wounds three days earlier in his Baghdad home.
The Palestinian officials suggested that Abu Nidal had committed suicide, but they did not explain how he could have shot himself several times. The way he died raised suspicions that he may have been assassinated.
Baghdad’s confirmation of Abu Nidal’s death came amid claims that he recently held talks with Saudi and Kuwaiti intelligence agents.
The claims, made Tuesday by a Palestinian official in the West Bank city of Ramallah, were rejected by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Abu Nidal was blamed for terrorist attacks that killed or injured hundreds of people, mostly during the 1970s and 1980s. The U.S. welcomed his death. In Crawford, Texas, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer described him Tuesday as “one of the most craven and despicable terrorists in the world .... He will not be missed.”
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