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Title:  "The Iranians and the PFLP-GC Early Suspects in the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing." Background information on the early stages of the investigation of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland in 1988 and the initial hypothesis of the involvment of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine--General Command (PFLP-GC). (911118)

Date:   19911118

Text:
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE DISPATCH PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOLUME 2, NUMBER 46, NOVEMBER 18, 1991

Fact Sheet: The Iranians and the PFLP-GC--Early Suspects In the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

The dominant hypothesis of the early stages of the Pan Am 103 investigation focused on indications that the bombing was the outcome of joint planning by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine--General Command (PFLP-GC). -- Reliable intelligence reporting indicated that the PFLP-GC and elements of the Iranian Government were planning to attack a US target in retaliation for the accidental downing in July 1988 of an Iranian Airbus by a US warship. -- On October 26, 1988, German police arrested members of a PFLP-GC cell led by Hafiz Dalkamoni. Police found a bomb in Dalkamoni's automobile that had been designed specifically for use against civilian aircraft. It contained an altimeter switch that ensured both that the bomb exploded at cruising altitude and that brief alterations in pressure at airport security facilities would not trigger a premature detonation. -- An early finding in the Pan Am 103 investigation was that the 103 bomb, like the PFLP-GC device found in Dalkamoni's automobile, had been concealed in a Toshiba radio and consisted of less than 500 grams of PETN and RDX--the two explosive ingredients used in Semtex-H. -- Investigators determined that the suitcase containing the bomb was in a luggage container that held bags transferred from the Pan Am 103 feeder flight out of Frankfurt--the location of much of the PFLP-GC cell's activity during October 1988. Over time, however, fresh evidence undermined the initial theory linking the PFLP-GC to the Pan Am 103 bomb and led the continuing investigation in other directions. -- It was determined that the Toshiba radio housing the PFLP-GC bomb found in Dalkamoni's car differed markedly from the appearance of the radio that forensic examiners said had contained the Pan Am 103 bomb. -- Clothing items packed with the Pan Am 103 bomb had been purchased in Valletta, Malta, on or about December 7, 1988. Frankfurt airport records also indicated that the suitcase containing the bomb had been transferred as an unaccompanied bag to the Pan Am 103 feeder flight from an Air Malta flight that had departed Valletta earlier on the day of the bombing. -- It was discovered in June 1990 that the Pan Am 103 bomb had been activated by a sophisticated electronic timer, in contrast to the PFLP-GC bombs, which had altimeter switches and relatively crude timers. Furthermore, we learned that the Pan Am 103 timer had been delivered to Libyan intelligence officials in 1985 and that two Libyan terrorists had been arrested with an identical timer in February 1988 in Senegal. -- No evidence has surfaced at the Pan Am 103 crash site indicating that the terrorists used an altimeter switch.

Collusion by Multiple State Sponsors? The United States now holds the Libyan Government responsible for the Pan Am 103 bombing. We cannot rule out a broader conspiracy between Libya and other governments or terrorist organizations, but the available information does not support that conclusion. We believe that Libya--the primary source of PFLP-GC funding during the 1980s--was probably aware of Dalkamoni's earlier plans to bomb aircraft. The activities in fall 1988 by those Libyans directly responsible for the December 1988 Pan Am bombing indicate that Libya was planning an aircraft bombing at the same time as the PFLP-GC cell was building its bombs in Germany. Tripoli was also aware of the PFLP-GC's relationship with Iran--and itself was a close ally of Tehran during the Iran-Iraq war. Syria, the primary political sponsor of the PFLP-GC and another strong ally of Iran, was at least broadly aware of the PFLP-GC's alliances and operations. Despite these links, the United States lacks information indicating direct collaboration among Iran, Syria, and Libya, either in sponsoring the PFLP-GC's planned bombings of aircraft or in Libya's bombing of Pan Am 103.