Incident Summary:
06/06/2000: A former members of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA), Mohammed Bassam, was attacked in Aitroun, Lebanon, by unidentified gunmen shortly after being released from jail. The victim was several beaten but survived the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
200006060007
When:
2000-06-06
Country:
Lebanon
Region:
Middle East & North Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
An Nabatiyah
City:
Aaitraroun
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Unarmed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
South Lebanon Army (SLA) |
Specific Description |
Mohammed Bassam, a Former South Lebanon Army (SLA) Member |
Nationality of Target |
Lebanon |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Melee |
Blunt Object |
Melee |
Hands, Feet, Fists |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | Yes |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
The victim was among the 1,700 SLA militiamen who surrendered or were delivered to Lebanese authorities by Hezbollah and other guerrilla groups during the SLA's rapid demise amid Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000. A Lebanese military court on 06/05/2000 sentenced about 100 former SLA members to jail terms ranging mostly from one month to five years. They were accused of joining the now disbanded SLA or Israel's civil administration, as well as providing information to Israel or entering the Jewish state. The head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, warned that Lebanese could seek reprisals against the former pro-Israeli militiamen. Nasrallah advised Lebanese authorities to keep all of the men in prison "in their own interest." This was one of two related incidents (cf. 200006060006). |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Unknown |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 1 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
1 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"Two former SLA members attacked in Lebanon after release", Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 06, 2000. |
"Two former SLA men attacked after release by Lebanese authorities", Agence France Presse, June 06, 2000. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties