Hassan, Abu (1943–1979)

Palestinian terrorist leader, responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli athletes by the Black September group during the Olympic Games. He also masterminded the 1972 hijacking of Sabena flight 572 to Tel Aviv, killing 27 tourists at Israel's Lod airport.

He was hunted from 1972 by the Israeli secret service, Mossad, who, in 1973, killed Ahmed Bouchiki, an innocent Moroccan in Lillehammer, Norway, mistaking him for Salameh. Mossad eventually assassinated him in Beirut, Lebanon, in January 1979 using a remote-controlled car bomb, with a further eight people killed in the explosion.

Salameh was born into a wealthy family in the Palestinian town of Qula. His father, Sheikh Hassan Salameh, was killed fighting Israelis in 1948. Salameh studied in Germany and received military training in Egypt and the Soviet Union. He joined the Palestinian nationalist organization Fatah and adopted the code name Abu Hassan when he became chief of operations for the Black September Palestinian terrorist organization. He also founded and headed the Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) elite Force 17. Popular among young Palestinians, he was nicknamed the Red Prince as he combined a wealthy lifestyle – driving sports cars and marrying a former Miss Universe in 1978 – with extremist terrorist actions. Allegedly, from 1970 he was a secret contact between the US CIA and the PLO, receiving financial support in return for helping to protect Americans in Beirut from terrorist actions.