1983 Kuwait Bombings - Pressure On Kuwait To Free The Bombers

Pressure On Kuwait To Free The Bombers

Of the "Kuwait 17", 12 were Iraqis in al-Dawa, and three were Lebanese. One of these was Mustafa Badr Al Din. Al Din was sentenced to death. He was also a cousin and brother-in-law of one of Hezbollah's senior officers, Imad Mugniyah. "Analysts say, ... there is little doubt Mugniyeh and Al Din helped plan December 1983 bombings in Kuwait against the U.S. and French embassies there ...."

Both the organization of Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran - which was far larger and stronger than its neighbor Kuwait, and the location of Dawa's headquarters - worked to free their fellow Shia revolutionaries in Kuwait.

In Lebanon, Westerns hostages such as American Frank Regier and Frenchman Christian Joubert, were held by Shia radicals demanding the release of the al-Dawa terrorists as the price of the hostages’ release. On March 27, 1984 following the conviction of the al-Da'wa defendants, hostage-takers threatened to kill their hostages if the Kuwaiti government carried through with the planned execution of the al-Dawa prisoners. A month later American Benjamin Weir was kidnapped by actors demanding the same. Anglican hostage negotiator Terry Waite appealed to the Emir of Kuwait and tried to get a visa to come to Kuwait. His failure to make progress in freeing the convicted terrorists is thought to be the reason he himself was kidnapped and spent some 5 years as a hostage.

Although those sentenced to death were to be hanged within 30 days, the Emir of Kuwait did not sign their death sentence. The executions were delayed for years, until the men escaped.