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Whatever
Happened to the 15 May Organisation?
 Author:
Rob Wood
Posted: March 20, 2003
The 15 May Organisation
has been mentioned in official US government documents as late as
2001 as being supported by Saddam Hussein, despite the fact that
many believe the group no longer exists. Indeed this organisation
does not even make the current list of 'Designated Terrorist Organisations,'
put out by the US DOS. The fact of the historical connection is
beyond dispute. However, the lack of activity of 15 May over the
last decade should not mean that we forget about them. A positive
outcome of the current invasion of Iraq, might be the arrest of
Abu Ibrahim, the leader of this group. Yet there is a very remote
possibility that an outgoing Saddam Hussein may choose to arm this
group with a WMD, thus making them an extreme menace.
Ideology: The
15 May Organisation was formed from the remnants of Wadi Haddad's
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Many of its
members abandoned the organisation after the withdrawal of overt
Iraqi support in 1984 to join Colonel Hawari's al Fatah. The organisation
was named after the date on which Israel was declared a state and
sought to destroy Israel and those who would tender a negotiated
settlement between the Palestinians and Israelis. It would seem
that its anti-Israeli agenda has been by far the dominant rhetorical
justification that it has proffered for its violent history. 15
May is unusual among Palestinian movements as it was never a part
of the PLO.
History: The 15
May Organisation is known for its use of sophisticated explosive
devices in the form of suitcase bombs and plastic explosives which
were used in many of its terrorist attacks during the 1980s. The
group was most active in the early part of that decade There were
attacks by 15 May at a London hotel in 1980 and the Israeli embassies
in Athens and Vienna in 1981.Two El Al offices were also attacked
in 1981 along with a Greek ship, Orion, at the Israeli port city
of Haifa in December of that same year. In 1982 there was an attempted
hijacking of a Pan Am flight in Rio de Janeiro and the onboard bombing
of another Pan Am flight from Tokyo to Honolulu in August of that
year. 15 May were also responsible for the bombing of the Israeli
Embassy in Sydney in 1982, which injured two people. The group was
further responsible for attempting the bombing of three airliners
in 1983, two of them headed to Israel and one to New York.
Key Personnel:
While 15 May was ostensibly disbanded about 18 years ago, indications
are that its leader, Muhammad al-Umari (aka: Abu Ibrahim) remains
in Iraq. Al-Umari is known throughout the Middle East and within
terrorist circles as the "bomb man," which is reflective
of the group's trademark delivery of terror. He is supposedly an
expert in demolitions, specialising in suitcase bombs.
Another of their personnel,
Mohammed Rashid was put on trial in the US in 1997 after spending
several years in a Greek prison before being released. . He was
suspected of committing at least three terrorist attacks in the
80s including the bombings of two Pan Am airliners and a TWA airliner
in Athens.
Link with Iraq: Iraq
supported 15 May organisation from its formation in 1979, by allowing
it to reside in Iraq with government funding and possibly even the
provision of military training. Nevertheless, the need for US support
by Iraq in the war against Iran during the 1980s meant that Hussein
withdrew his overt support for the group. This led to the apparent
disbanding of 15 May in the mid 1980s, whereby its members dispersed
into other terrorist organisation such as al Fatah.
Nevertheless, there are
some more recent indications of activity. As late as 1997, a 15
May training camp near Baghdad was cited as a potential bombing
target for any allied bombing campaign in Iraq, despite the fact
that such information was based on a newspaper report from 1991.
There have been few indications that 15 May retains any such facilities
today.
While 15 May has not
been directly linked to any attacks since the mid 1980s, according
to many sources it still maintains a presence in Baghdad. The standing
of Abu Ibrahim amongst other Palestinian organisations could mean
that his expertise may still be called upon by such groups. Indeed,
Ibrahim was cited as a "potential asset" for the Hussein
regime by a member of the US House of Representatives as long ago
as 1990.
Saddam has shown a preference
for using his own secret intelligence service for his own brand
of terror, such as the failed assassination of George Bush Senior.
in 1993, and the more recent attempt to attack a Radio Free Europe
station in the Czech Republic in 1998. Yet with the current invasion,
Saddam has been truly backed into a corner. Some analysts have predicted
that he may choose to arm terrorist organisations with WMDs, having
nothing left to lose. While there are other more likely terrorist
recipients of a WMD from Saddam, it is the recent anonymity of 15
May, as well as their undisputed terror expertise that makes their
position worth some consideration. After all, who would expect Saddam
to bestow such a prize on a 'defunct' group?
The short of this is
that it would be foolhardy to discount the current status of this
group when so much is at stake. The reemergence of a WMD-armed 15
May, while a remote possibility, would not augur well for the West
and especially Israel. There is little reason to believe that Abu
Ibrahim has significantly changed his position on Israel or the
use of terror and so he remains a danger. Let's hope the current
invasion of Iraq sees the final demise of this terrorist.
Author: Rob Wood
Email: news@polosbastards.com
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