Hawari Group

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HAWARI GROUP

Palestinian group created in February 1979 by the central committee of Fatah in order to take charge of some of the Fatah leadership's security needs and carry out special operations. Rising out of differences in Force 17 and placed under the command of Abdullah Abd al-Hamid Labib (Colonel Hawari), this splinter group was controlled directly by Yasir Arafat and benefited from Iraqi help. It is known to have carried out several terrorist attacks in the 1980s, including exploding a bomb on an American airliner in 1986, killing four people. After it was expelled from Tunisia in 1987, it lost its operational capacities, then disappeared in June 1991 after the death of its leader.

SEE ALSO Arafat, Yasir;Fatah, al-;Force 17.