SHEIK SURVIVES A BOMB

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00587R000100200110-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 30, 2011
• Sequence Number: 110
• Publication Date: May 26, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31 :CIA-RDP91-005878000100200110-9
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PHILADELPHIA INQUIRE
' 26 May 1985
Sh~~k
survives
a boanb
3 Kuwaitis .killed;
3ihad takes credit
' Iran 1npWm Wln Scrolta
1CiJWATT -The Emir of Kuwait,
Sheik Jaber Ahmed Sabah, narrowly
escaped death yesterday when a re-
mote-controlled car bomb exploded
as his motorcade was passing on the
waterfront. -
Three people were killed, but the
'monarch, showered with broken
.glass, was not seriously hurt.
In Beirut, an anonymous telephone '
.caller told foreign news agencies
that. the Islamic Jihad, or Islamic
Holy War, was responsible for the
.attack. The caller reiterated de-
mands for the release of 17 men who
were convicted and imprisoned in
.Kuwait for .bomb attacks on the U.S.
and French Embassies and other tar-
gets in 1983.
"We once more demand the release
of the detainees, otherwise all the
thrones in the fPersian] Gulf will be
shaken," he said. ;
"We hope His Royal Highness has
;received the message addressed to
Ihim," he said, adding: "An Islamic
revolution until victory."
The Islamic Jihad, believed to be a
cover name used by radical left-wing
Shiite Muslims loyal to Iran, issued
what it called "$ final warning':. on
May 16, offering to trade six Western
hostages in Lebanon for the bombers
in Kuwait.
The hostages are: Terry, Anderson,
chief Middle East correspondent for
the Asvociated Press; U.S. Embassy
official William Buckley; the Rev.
Benjamin Weir; the Rev. Lawrence
:Jenco, and French diplomats Marcel
Fontaine and Marcel Carton.
lion, Arab and Islamic peoples," he
said.
The emir was on his way to the el?
Sief palace when the bomb was deto-
nated by remote control, said official
sources, who spoke on the condition
they not be identified.
Four doctors examined the emir
and said in a report distributed by
the official Kuwait News Agency that
he "suffered minor bruises caused
by flying glass shards."
Security officials said that two
royal guards and a pedestrian were
'killed in the blast and that 12 other
people- were hurt. They made no
mention of arrests. .
Thick black smoke engulfed the
area of the explosion, and residents
said they saw a large fire. Civilian
traffic -was detoured as security
forces cordoned off the area.
? Checkpoints were set up at nearby
intersections and main highways.
The Kuwait parliament issued a
statement denouncing yesterday's
bombing as "aggression on demo-
cracy, freedom and Islamic values"
and demanding action against "all
quarters responsible for .the inci-
dent."
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
sent a message congratulating the
i emir on his escape from serious in-
jury, Egypt's state-run Middle East
.News Agency said. Many Egyptians
!.live in Kuwait.
j The sheik became the 13th emir of
this Persian Gulf country on Dec. 31,
1977. He held several cabinet posi-
lions in the 1950s and 1960s, and
became the heir apparent in 1966.
Last December, four men hijacked
a Kuwait Airways jetliner to Tehran,
where they threatened to kill the
passengers if the 17 prisoners in Ku-
wait were not released. Kuwait re-
fused, and the hijackers killed two
Americans before the incident
fended.
j Kuwaiti crown prince Sheik Saad
Abdullah Sabah, who also acts as
prime minister, told reporters yester-
day: "~"e d~n~t St~ccumh to threats
and blackmail `end will act with his
highness the emir to safeguard the
digniry_ and, lg ory of Kuwait"
his face, went on radio and televi-
sion and told his 1.6. million subjects
'that he was tmharmed..
"I wish to assure you, citizens, that
'I am in good health," he said in a
'firm voice. His head was covered
in statements sent. to Beirut news- :with the traditional scarf,- but it did
papers, the organization had warned ;not have the usual black cord. '
of "catastrophic consequences" if ~ ?The incidents to which we are
their demands were not met soon. (subjected will not distract us from
Four hours after the car-bomb ex- proceeding on with our policy of
plosion, the SCryear-old emir, with cultivating .prosperity. for this na-
bruises and treated cuts visible on
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/31 :CIA-RDP91-005878000100200110-9