Page 175 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Further Reading
Tribune. All published the demands.
Brockman, Richard. “Notes While Being Hijacked.” The
The Federal Aviation Administration picked up
Atlantic, December 1976. http://www.theatlantic.com/
the pilot’s radio message and alerted the NYPD. The issues/76dec/brockman.htm.
city’s bomb squad roped off the area identified by the Seigel, Max H. “4 Croatian Nationalists Convicted of
hijackers and had pried open 24 lockers surrounding Hijacking La Guardia Jetliner.” New York Times,May 6,
locker no. 5713, where the bomb was located. Inside 1977, 1.
locker no. 5713, police found a sealed pressure Tomasson, Robert E. “Jet Out of La Guardia Is Hijacked;
cooker. After attempts to x-ray the bomb were unsuc- Bomb Left in New York Goes Off.” New York Times,
cessful, it was moved to the bomb squad range in September 11, 1976, 1.
Rodman’s Neck, Bronx. There, four members of the
bomb squad—Police Officer Brian J. Murray, Police
Officer Henry Dworkin, Deputy Inspector Fritz Behr, GRAPO. See FIRST OF OCTOBER
and Sergeant Terence McTigue (none of whom were
wearing protective gear)—placed the bomb in a dirt ANTIFASCIST RESISTANCE GROUP.
pit and attempted to detonate and/or deactivate it
via remote control. After several attempts, the four
men approached the bomb for inspection. It exploded,
killing Murray instantly and showering shrapnel on GREAT EASTERN
the others, leaving McTigue with permanent injuries. ISLAMIC RAIDERS’ FRONT
In the ensuing trial, Zvonko Busic, the leader of the
group, took full responsibility for both the hijacking
and setting the bomb at Grand Central Station, claim- The extremely anti-Semitic and anti-Christian Great
ing that the others, including his wife, Julienne, were Eastern Islamic Raiders’ Front (IBDA-C) has allegedly
not aware of his specific plans. Busic testified that he been active in Turkey since the 1970s, but was officially
purchased eight sticks of dynamite from a “Mafia”-type “founded” in 1985. With the stated aim of replacing
man that he met in a bar in Yorkville. He then fashioned Turkey’s secular government with Islamic rule, the
the bomb, using instructions from The Anarchist’s group has been most active in the region around Istanbul
Cookbook, and placed it in the locker 48 hours before since 1993. The group’s alleged leader, Salih Izzet
the hijacking. Erdis, was arrested in 1998 and remains in prison
The Grand Central Station bomb was used to con- The IBDA-C, the more independent of the two
vince authorities and the hijacked passengers that well-known radical Islamic activist groups in Turkey,
other devices brought onto the plane, some made from was first heard from in 1989 after it held demonstra-
clay, other crafted from cast-iron pots, black tape, and tions in Istanbul; the group has been aggressive since
timers, were true bombs. Busic testified that he cau- the beginning of the 1990s. Targeting Turkish secular-
tioned the police about a switch on the bomb, which ism, the group’s members have murdered scores of
he had deliberately set in the off position, rendering journalists, politicians, and academics outspoken in
it inactive. He later claimed that the explosion was their defense of a secular Turkey.
attributable to faulty police equipment. Erdis, the leader of the IBDA-C, is also known
In May 1977, four of the five Croatian Nationalists by the name Salih Mirzabeyoglu and is referred to
on trial were found guilty of air piracy. Busic and his as “commander” by IBDA-C members. Erdis was
wife were also charged in the death of Police Officer arrested on December 29, 1998, and imprisoned in
Murray and received life sentences. Two others Turkey; he was tried at the Istanbul State Security Court
received 30-year sentences. The fifth man, who for “attempting to replace the Secular Constitutional
pleaded guilty before the trial, also received a 30-year order with Islamic Sheriah rules.” The Turkish court
term. All but Busic, who will be eligible for parole in sentenced him to death for “the armed attempt to over-
2006, have been released. throw the constitutional order.” Two of his cohorts were
sentenced to 18 years in prison. Apparently, Erdis later
See also BOMBINGS AND BOMB SCARES; TWA FLIGHT 355 tried to hang himself in his cell, but survived when a
HIJACKING fellow inmate cut the rope.