Rome and Vienna Airport Attacks - Definition

The Rome and Vienna Airport Attacks were two major terrorist attacks carried out on December 27, 1985.

On that day, four terrorists walked to the ticket counter of Israel's El Al airlines at Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport in Rome, Italy, and opened fire with assault rifles and grenades. They killed 16 people and wounded 80 others before three of them were killed and the remaining one shot and captured by police. Five U.S. citizens were among those killed.

Minutes later, at the Schwechat Airport (Vienna International Airport) in Vienna, Austria, three terrorists carried out a mirror attack. They killed four people and wounded 39 others. The terrorists then fled the airport by car, and Austrian authorities gave chase. They killed one terrorist and then captured another.

In all, the attacks killed 20 and wounded 120. They were carried out by terrorists from the Abu Nidal group, which was retaliating for the Israeli bombing of PLO headquarters in Tunis on October 1. Libya was accused of funding the terrorists who carried out the attacks, but although they denied the charges they did praise the assaults.