Mohammed Jihad Ahmed Jibril (1961 – 20 May 2002) was the son of

Ahmed Jibril Ahmed Jibril ( ar, أحمد جبريل; April 1937 – 7 July 2021) was a Palestinian militant, the founder and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC). During the Syrian Civil War, Jibril wa ...

, founder of the

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين – القيادة العامة) or PFLP-GC is a Palestinian nationalist militant organisation based in Syria. ...

(PFLP-GC). He was assassinated 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 ...

on 20 May 2002.

Early life and education

Jihad Ahmed Jibril was born in Damascus, Syria, in 1961. He is the eldest son of Ahmed Jibril. He attended the Libyan military academy from 1981 to 1983 and graduated with the rank of a lieutenant colonel. He was studying law at

Lebanese University The Lebanese University (LU) (, ) is the only public university in Beirut, Lebanon. It is ranked #701–750 worldwide in terms of education. The creation of the Lebanese University was an idea first mentioned in the speech of the former Minist ...

when he was assassinated.

Political activity and attacks

Jibril became the leader of the military wing of the PFLP-GC and was the heir apparent of the organization before he was killed. He was also a member of the Popular Front's executive committee. Jibril was reported to have participated in an airborne attack on Israel in 1987, killing six Israeli soldiers. Jibril was seriously injured in an explosion during an exercise in the

Bekaa valley The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...

in 1997. He also experienced an assassination attempt in 2000 when his car came under fire near a PFLP-GC base south of Beirut.

Personal life

Jibril was married with two children; Ahmed (born 1992) and Ali (born 1996).

Death

Jibril was killed in a car bombing in

on 20 May 2002. A 2 kg

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

booby trap had been put under the driver's seat of his car. The blast occurred in a crowded commercial center in Beirut's Mar Elias district. The bomb exploded nearly at 11:45 am when Jibril turned the ignition key. The assassination was blamed by his father and others on

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, but it denied the allegations. In mid-June 2006, Lebanon authorities arrested a group of alleged spies who reportedly confessed to working for Israel and carrying out the attack. Other Israelis, one American

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) employee, and one

Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...

(CSIS) agent were implicated in the assassination but never charged. Some Lebanese opponents of Hezbollah suspected the alleged spy ring was a

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

fabrication.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jibril, Jihad Ahmed 1961 births 2002 deaths Assassinations in Lebanon 2002 murders in Asia Deaths by car bomb in Lebanon Terrorism deaths in Lebanon Palestinian terrorism victims Assassinated Palestinian people People killed in Mossad operations