Palestinian Guerrilla Chief Abu Nidal Found Dead: Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Palestinian Guerrilla Chief Abu Nidal Found Dead: Report

Palestinian guerrilla commander Abu Nidal, one of the world's most wanted men, has been found dead from gunshot wounds in his Baghdad home, Palestinian sources said Monday.

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Palestinian guerrilla commander Abu Nidal, one of the world's most wanted men, has been found dead from gunshot wounds in his Baghdad home, Palestinian sources said Monday.

A senior Palestinian official said Abu Nidal, 65, had died in "mysterious conditions" and it was unclear whether he was killed or committed suicide.

Sources in Abu Nidal's group, the Fatah -Revolutionary Council, said he shot himself because he was suffering from cancer and addicted to painkillers. The Palestinian Al-Ayyam newspaper said he had died three days ago.

The accounts could not be independently verified and there was official silence from Baghdad, which has never commented on whether the guerrilla leader was in the Iraqi capital.

The State Department, calling Abu Nidal a "craven and despicable terrorist," said it could not confirm he was dead.

Abu Nidal, a sworn enemy of Yasser Arafat and any Palestinian leader who sought accommodation with Israel, led a dissident Palestinian militant organization high on Washington's list of groups it considers terrorist.

His Fatah-Revolutionary Council group was blamed for attacks in 20 countries in which hundreds of people were killed or wounded, mostly during the 1970s and 1980s.

Source: agencies

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