June 1980 assassination attempt on Hafez al-Assad

June 1980 assassination attempt on Hafez al-Assad
Part of Islamist uprising in Syria
Location of the assassination attempt.
Location Guest Palace, Damascus, Syria
Date 26 June 1980 (Local time)
Weapons Hand granades, machine gun
Deaths 1 bodyguard (+2 attackers)
Suspected perpetrators
Muslim Brotherhood

On 26 June 1980, an assassination attempt on Hafez al-Assad ,the Syrian president, was carried out by Muslim Brotherhood supporters who threw two grenades and fired machine gun bursts at him as he waited for an African diplomat in the Guest Palace in Damascus.[1][2][3] Assad kicked one grenade out of range, whilst one of Assad's bodyguards threw himself on the other grenade.

The attack came in the scope of the Islamist uprising in Syria. The attack on the president prompted a series of deadly retaliations by the government troops, most notably the Tadmor prison massacre, carried out the next day. Ten days later Law No. 49 was passed, making membership of the Muslim Brotherhood a capital offence punishable by death.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Moubayed, Sami (2015). Under the Black Flag: At the Frontier of the New Jihad. I.B.Tauris. p. 38-39.
  2. Seale, Patrick (1989), Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East, University of California Press, p.328-329
  3. Syria’s Tadmor Prison Massacre: Reliving Horrors of 32 Years Past JUNE 27, 2012
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