CHRONOLOGY OF OUTRAGES

January 1976 Thieves blast into the British Bank of the Middle East in Beirut and steal an estimated $20 million to $50 million. The PLO is thought to be responsible.

July 19, 1982 Davis S. Dodge, president of the American University in Beirut, is kidnapped by pro-Iran extremists, flown to a prison near Tehran and held until his release a year later.

Jan. 18, 1984 Malcolm Kerr, president of the AUB, is shot dead outside his office. The Islamic Jihad Organization claims responsibility, citing US military presence in Lebanon as its motive.

March 16, 1984: William Francis Buckley, a CIA operative working at the US Embassy in Beirut, is kidnapped by Hezbollah and later murdered.

Dec. 3, 1984 A Kuwait Airways flight from Kuwait City to Karachi is hijacked by four Lebanese and diverted to Tehran. During the standoff, two American officials are shot dead.

June 14, 1985 TWA Flight 847 is hijacked shortly after takeoff from Athens. The hijackers take the plane to Beirut and Algiers. US Navy diver Robert Stethem is murdered. Hezbollah deemed responsible.

Jan. 20, 1987 British humanitarian Terry Waite arrives in Beirut to negotiate the release of hostages held by the IJO but is taken captive. He remains in captivity for 1,763 days.

Feb. 17, 1988 US Marine Col. William Higgins, who serves with UN forces in south Lebanon, is kidnapped and murdered. A Hezbollah-aligned splinter group of the Amal Movement carries out the operation.

April 5, 1988 Lebanese militants hijack Kuwait Airways Flight

422 en route from Thailand to Kuwait. Two hostages are killed before a siege ends in Algiers on April 20. Hezbollah deemed responsible.

May 28, 2023 A Saudi national working for flag carrier Saudia is abducted in Beirut. The motive remains unclear. The man is later rescued by the

Lebanese army.

Robert Edwards