1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires
The Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires was a bomb attack against Israel's embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 17, 1992. A pickup truck, driven by a suicide bomber and loaded with explosives, smashed into the front of the Israeli Embassy located on the corner of Arroyo and Suipacha, and detonated, destroying the embassy, a Catholic church, and a nearby school building. Several Israelis died, but most of the victims were Argentine civilians, many of them children. The blast killed 29 and wounded 242. It was Argentina's deadliest terror attack until the AMIA Bombing of 1994, and as of 2008 it remains the deadliest attack on an Israeli diplomatic mission.
The bombers were believed to have gained access to Argentina through the Tri-Border area, the area where the borders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet. They videotaped the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and assembled their explosives.
A group called Islamic Jihad, allegedly a front for Hezbollah, claimed responsibility; their stated motive for the attack was Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Sayed Abbas al-Musawi. On February 16, 1992, Israeli helicopters had attacked a motorcade in southern Lebanon, killing Musawi, his wife, son, and four others. Israel said the attack had been planned as an assassination attempt.
After the bombing, Israel sent investigators to Argentina to search for clues. In May 1998, Moshen Rabbani, (the Cultural Attache in the Iranian Embassy in Argentina until December 1997) was detained in Germany, and the Argentine government expelled seven Iranian diplomats from the country, stating that it had "convincing proof" of Iranian involvement in the bombing. However, none of the suspects have been prosecuted. In fact the attack occurred when Iran and Argentine were hoping for a resumption of nuclear cooperation, although Argentina had announced the suspension of the shipments of nuclear materials to Iran a couple months before the bombing. Argentina's Iranian nuke connection, Gareth Porter, Nov 15, 2006 A number of sources insist that the action was carried out by Hezbollah, with Syrian assistance. Hezbollah denies these claims. The case remains unsolved.
In 1999, the Argentinian government issued an arrest warrant for Imad Mugniyah in connection with this attack and the 1994 AMIA Bombing in Buenos Aires, which killed 85. It is suspected that the two attacks are linked.
Today there is a memorial set up in place of where the building stood. In the memorial plaza stand twenty one trees and seven benches in memory of the victims. A plaque describing the event and listing the victims is located in the memorial in both Hebrew and Spanish.
See also
Secretaria de Inteligencia
AMIA Bombing
History of the Jews in Argentina
External links
New Report Links Syria to 1992 Bombing of Israeli Embassy in Argentina
Global Terrorism Analysis - Radical Islam in Latin America
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