Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz confirmed Tuesday that Palestinian guerrilla chief, Abu Nidal had died in Baghdad, saying he committed suicide.
"Yes, he committed suicide," Aziz told reporters. Aziz told journalists: "Tomorrow there will be a meeting by a high-ranking Iraqi official with you and he will give all the details of this incident."
The United States hailed Abu Nidal's death. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer described him as "one of the most craven and despicable terrorists in the world...he will not be missed." "The fact that Iraq gave safe haven to Abu Nidal demonstrates the Iraqi regime's complicity in global terror," Fleischer added.
Prior to Aziz's comments there were contradicting reports regarding the fate of Abu Nidal.
The London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat reported that Abu Nidal, whose body was reportedly found in a Baghdad apartment over the weekend, was killed by Iraqi agents, According to this report, the Iraqi assassins fired four bullets at Abu Nidal, after Baghdad had discovered he had relations with the Kuwaiti authorities.
The newspaper quoted a Palestinian source in Ramallah as saying he had spoken with a member of Abu Nidal’s group.
The source told him that two armed men killed Abu Nidal during a Friday raid of his home, where he had been staying with four of his people in Baghdad, between 15:00 and 16:00. The source added that Abu Nidal and his accompanies, who were in the apartment at the time, were surprised to see the armed men enter the apartment, and that he was killed following an exchange of fire.
The source further added that the Iraqis had also arrested part of Abu Nidal’s group, and that they were pursuing searches for additional members. Moreover, the Palestinian source claimed that a few members of Abu Nidal’s group, who managed to escape Baghdad, might arrive either Tuesday or Wednesday in Amman.
According to the sources, it was not possible that Abu Nidal had committed suicide. “How could he have committed suicide if a few gunshot holes were found in his body?”
The source said that Abu Nidal began visiting Iraq at the end of 1998, and brought with him, during his first visit, 45 of his fighters, that started to undergo training in that country. However, Abu Nidal himself, had always been under Iraqi supervision in Baghdad, the report added.
CNN reported that Abu Nidal had committed suicide under Iraqi house arrest. Based on information from an unnamed top Iraqi official, CNN said that Abu Nidal was under house arrest, suspected of anti-Iraqi activity. After being shown proof of his complicity, according to the Iraqi source, Abu Nidal committed suicide.
Also on Tuesday, a spokesman for Abu Nidal's Fatah Revolutionary Council said that the guerilla leader is "not dead." The spokesman was quoted by news agencies as saying: "The news is fabricated by the enemies' intelligence." "Abu Nidal is good health and continues to carry out his mission."
"It is not the first time the enemy services try to create such rumors," the spokesman said. The FRC would issue an official statement regarding this issue, he added.
The leading Lebanese daily An Nahar and the London-based Al Hayat also quoted FRC officials who did not wish to be named as denying the news about Abu Nidal's death. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
