Incident Summary:

09/21/1972: A letter bomb addressed to Nahum Gershom, the Israeli Embassy Ambassador, was discovered and defused in Brazzaville, People's Republic of the Congo. This was one of 74 letter bombs that were mailed from Amsterdam and were discovered or detonated between September 19, 1972 and September 28, 1972. Black September claimed responsibility for the incidents.

GTD ID:
197209210012

When:
1972-09-21

Country:
People's Republic of the Congo

Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Brazzaville

City:
Brazzaville

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Assassination
Successful Attack? (more) No
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Government (Diplomatic)
Name of Entity Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Specific Description Ambassador: Nahum Gershom
Nationality of Target Israel
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Explosives Letter Bomb
Weapon Details
An explosives-laden letter was used.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Black September Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Note left at scene)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators Unknown
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 0 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 0
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"Letter-bomb to Brazzaville," The Jerusalem Post, September 25, 1972.