This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (December 2021) |
Achille Lauro hijacking | |
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Part of the Arab–Israeli conflict | |
Location | MS Achille Lauro off the Egyptian coast |
Date | October 7–10, 1985 |
Attack type | Hijacking and hostage crisis |
Weapons | Firearms and hand grenades |
Deaths | 1 |
Perpetrators | Palestine Liberation Front |
Motive | Publicity of Palestinian issues and release of Palestinian prisoners |
The Achille Lauro hijacking took place on 7 October 1985, when the Italian ocean liner MS Achille Lauro was hijacked by four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel. A 69-year-old Jewish American man in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, was murdered by the hijackers and thrown overboard. The hijacking sparked the "Sigonella Crisis".