U.S. envoy reported killed

Press, 5 October 1985, Page 10

U.S. envoy reported killed

NZPA-AP Beirut The Shi’ite Muslim group “Islamic Holy War” had killed an American diplomat, William Buckley, in retaliation for Israel’s attack on a Palestinian headquarters in Tunis, two Beirut newspapers said yesterday. The newspapers carried a statement purportedly issued by the group, called Islamic Jihad in Arabic, saying, “we announce the execution 0f.... William Buckley right after publication of this statement”. Mr Buckley, aged 57, kidnapped by the group on

March 16, 1984, had been “tried and found guilty of involvement in American intelligence crimes in this world.” The statement, written in ungrammatical Arabic, was published in the independent “an-Nahar” and the leftist “as-Safir” dailies. >- The phrasing of the statement indicated that the group meant that by the time the papers published Mr Buckley would be dead. An official at “an-Nahar,” who declined to be named, said, “They’re telling us that by the time we got the paper out he’d be dead.”

Both dailies were on the streets before dawn with the long statement on their front pages. There was no way to authenticate the statement or confirm that Mr Buckley had been killed. The statement said that Mr Buckley was killed “in revenge for the blood of our martyrs” in Wednesday’s Israeli air raid. Mr Buckley, one of six Americans and four Frenchmen believed to be held by Islamic Jihad, was a political officer at the United States Embassy in Beirut. The statement said that “beyond any doubt” the air

strike was “carried out and Elanned jointly by > the United States and •; Israel under the supervision of American intelligence (C.1.A.). “We are responsible for the blood of Muslims in every part of the. world .and we understand that America and Israel are responsible for the killing of Muslims in Tunisia,” it said. « . “We warn the American Government and Israel that they shall both pay handsomely in Lebanon, Washington and across the world because the arm of our strugglers is long enough to reach the aggressors.”