Western hostages 1982–1991
33 events
- 5 September 1972The Munich operationA hostage-taking of Israeli athletes during the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, on 5–6 September 1972, carried out…
- 4 July 1982Kidnapping of the Iranian diplomats
- 19 July 1982Kidnapping of David Dodge
- 21 July 1983David Dodge released
- 18 January 1984AUB president Malcolm Kerr assassinatedOn 18 January 1984 Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated with two shots…
- 16 March 1984Kidnapping of William BuckleyThe kidnapping of the CIA station chief in Beirut by Hezbollah; he had come on a mission to investigate the embassy and…
- 3 December 1984Peter Kilburn kidnapped
- 16 March 1985Terry Anderson kidnappedOn 16 March 1985 the Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson was kidnapped in West Beirut; he remained a hostage…
- 22 March 1985French diplomats Carton and Fontaine kidnapped
- 22 May 1985Michel Seurat and Jean-Paul Kauffmann kidnappedOn 22 May 1985 the researcher Michel Seurat and the journalist Jean-Paul Kauffmann were kidnapped on the Beirut airport…
- 9 June 1985Thomas Sutherland kidnapped
- 14 June 1985Hijacking of a US airliner (TWA 847)
- 4 October 1985William Buckley's execution announcedOn 4 October 1985 "Islamic Jihad" announced the execution of the CIA's Beirut station chief William Buckley, kidnapped…
- 5 March 1986Death of French hostage Michel Seurat announced
- 28 March 1986Leigh Douglas and Philip Padfield kidnapped
- 15 April 1986US air raid on LibyaOn 15 April 1986 American aircraft bombed Tripoli and Benghazi in reply to the bombing of a nightclub in West Berlin;…
- 17 April 1986Three hostages killed after the US raid on LibyaOn 17 April 1986, two days after the American raid on Tripoli and Benghazi, the bodies of the American Peter Kilburn…
- 17 April 1986John McCarthy kidnapped
- 9 September 1986Frank Reed kidnapped
- 12 September 1986Joseph Cicippio kidnapped
- 3 November 1986The Iran–Contra affair breaksOn 3 November 1986 the Lebanese magazine "Ash-Shiraa" revealed that Washington had struck a secret exchange deal with…
- 20 January 1987Terry Waite kidnappedOn 20 January 1987 Terry Waite, the envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury who had come to negotiate the hostages'…
- 24 January 1987Beirut University College professors kidnapped
- 17 February 1988Kidnapping of William Higgins
- 4 May 1988Last French hostages releasedOn 4 May 1988 Jean-Paul Kauffmann, Marcel Carton and Marcel Fontaine were released after three years in captivity, in a…
- 31 July 1989Execution of Col. William Higgins announcedOn 31 July 1989 the "Organisation of the Oppressed on Earth" broadcast a tape showing the body of the American Colonel…
- 22 April 1990Robert Polhill released
- 30 April 1990Frank Reed released
- 27 July 1990Mitterrand pardons Anis Naccache and his comrades
- 8 August 1991John McCarthy released
- 18 November 1991Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland releasedOn 18 November 1991 Terry Waite was released after 1,763 days, together with the American Thomas Sutherland; Terry…
- 2 December 1991Joseph Cicippio released
- 4 December 1991Release of the foreign hostages