On December 15, 1981, the Iraqi Shi'a Islamist group al-Dawa carried out a suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. The explosion leveled the embassy and killed 61 people, including Iraq's ambassador to

, and injured at least 100 others. The attack is considered by some to be the second modern suicide bombing, preceded by the 1927 Bath School bombings and presaged the

1983 United States embassy bombing The April 18, 1983 United States embassy bombing was a suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 32 Lebanese, 17 Americans, and 14 visitors and passers-by. The victims were mostly embassy and CIA staff members, but also included several U ...

and the

1983 Beirut barracks bombings Early on a Sunday morning, October 23, 1983, two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese ...

Background

Emboldened by the success of the 1979

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

, the anti-

Baathist Ba'athism, also stylized as Baathism, (; ar, البعثية ' , from ' , meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection"Hans Wehr''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' (4th ed.), page 80) is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation ...

Shi'a Islamist group al-Dawa, with financial and military assistance from the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, began to employ violence in its struggle against the Iraqi government. In 1979 and 1980, al-Dawa assassinated a number of "senior but low-profile" Baathist officials in Iraq. In response to a failed assassination attempt on Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister

Tariq Aziz Tariq Aziz ( ar, طارق عزيز , 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s wh ...

in April 1980 by al-Dawa, the Iraqi government launched a severe crackdown on the group, which included the execution of al-Dawa spiritual leader

Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr ( ar, آية الله العظمى السيد محمد باقر الصدر; 1 March 1935 – 9 April 1980), also known as al-Shahīd al-Khāmis (the fifth martyr), was an Iraqi philosopher, and the ideological founde ...

. The remaining al-Dawa leadership fled to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and the group became an "effective proxy" for the Iranian government against Iraq during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

, which broke out in September 1980.

Bombing

On December 15, 1981, a car filled with approximately 100 kilograms of explosives was driven into Iraq's embassy building in Beirut by a suicide bomber. The ensuing explosion devastated the embassy, killed 61 people, including the Iraq ambassador, Abdul Razzak Lafta, and injured more than 100 others. Balqis al-Rawi, the Iraqi wife of Syrian poet

Nizar Qabbani Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani ( ar, نزار توفيق قباني, , french: Nizar Kabbani; 21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian diplomat, poet, writer and publisher. He is considered to be Syria's National Poet. His poetic style combines sim ...

, who worked for the embassy's cultural section, was also killed in the attack.

Impact

The attack, which presaged the 1983 United States embassy bombing and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, is considered by some to be the first modern suicide bombing, though others nominate earlier attacks.

References

{{reflist, 40em 1981 in international relations 1980s crimes in Beirut 1981 murders in Lebanon 20th-century mass murder in Lebanon Attacks on buildings and structures in Beirut Attacks on diplomatic missions in Lebanon December 1981 crimes December 1981 events in Asia Improvised explosive device bombings in 1981 Embassy bombing in Beirut Islamic Shia terrorism Islamic terrorism in Lebanon Islamic terrorist incidents in the 1980s Mass murder in 1981 Mass murder in Beirut Suicide bombings in Beirut Suicide bombings in the 1980s Suicide car and truck bombings in Lebanon Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 1981 Building bombings in Lebanon Islamic Dawa Party Bombing Bombing 1981 disasters in Lebanon