Salah Khalaf | |
---|---|
صلاح خلف | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1933 Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine |
Died | 14 January 1991 Carthage, Tunisia | (aged 57–58)
Manner of death | Assassination |
Resting place | Amman, Jordan |
Citizenship | Palestine |
Political party | Fatah |
Children | 6 |
Alma mater | Al Azhar University Ain Shams University |
Occupation | Politician |
Salah Mesbah Khalaf (Arabic: صلاح مصباح خلف, romanized: Ṣalāḥ Maṣbāḥ Ḵalaf), also known as Abu Iyad (Arabic: أبو إياد, romanized: ʾAbū ʾIyād) (1933 – 14 January 1991), was a Palestinian militant and the deputy chief and head of intelligence for the Palestine Liberation Organization. He was the second most senior official of Fatah after Yasser Arafat.[1]
The United States and Israel believed him to have been a founder of the Black September Organization.
Suspected of having helped the CIA to break up Abu Nidal's so-called "Abu Nidal Organization", Khalaf was assassinated by a member of that organization in 1991. Palestinians, and many onlookers, generally believe Abu Nidal was responsible for his death. Some believe the order came from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.