The sole survivor of a four-man Lebanese terrorist group which attacked the Christian missionary Voice of Hope radio station in south Lebanon two weeks ago told his South Lebanon Army interrogators that his group had been misled by the Lebanese Communist Party, to which they belonged and which had organized the attack.
The radio station, now operating from temporary studios in Marjayoun, reported that the captured terrorist, Nasser Harfan, 22, of Baalbek in the Lebanese Bekaa valley, had claimed he had been forced to take part in the attack, which destroyed the station building but did not harm its neighboring and associated Middle East Television station.
In a statement broadcast over the radio station, Harfan said the gang had been given pep pills to increase their courage before they left on their mission. He said the men had been told that the load of explosives they carried were timed to go off some minutes after they operated the timing mechanism, to afford them time to get away.
“We were told it was not a suicide mission. But the three men were killed when the charges went off as soon as they pressed the charge lever,” he said. “We were willfully misled.”
Three terrorists, a station guard and a sleeping technician were killed in the attack. Harfan said three other terrorists got away because they did not approach the station with the attacking group.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
