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Two groups have claimed responsibility for the kidnapings at Beirut University College. Shortly after the abductions, a caller claiming to speak for the Organization for the Oppressed on Earth said it had the hostages, and threatened to kill one if Hammadi is not released, and the US continues to support Iraq in its war with Iran. We believe this is another covername for elements of Hizballah; the name has been used since late 1985, mostly in connection with the kidnaping and murder of several Lebanese Jews. As recently as last month, the group claimed it executed more of these Jewish hostages.

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A second group—the “Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine” (IJLP) claimed in late January that it had kidnaped the Americans. Just as with the more familiar Islamic Jihad cc *rname, communiques have been accompanied by photographs of the hostí is for authentication. The IJLP said it would murder all four hostages within a week if 400 Palestinian prisoners-many of them Shia Muslims—held in Israeli jails were not released and Muhammad Hammadi was not freed. It also threatened to kill the hostages if the United States tried to intervene militarily in Lebanon. Little is known about the group, which claims to be composed of Muslim Palestinian youths, but a group using a similar name—the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Palestine-claimed responsibilty for the grenade attack at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem last October.

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We believe that these organizations are covernames for Mughniyah's apparatus or other closely related elements of Hizballah. The sophistication of the recent abductions suggests that the terrorists are organized and have good intelligence on the movements of foreigners into and around Beirut, as well as on international flights. The professors abducted from Beirut University College believed that the terrorists were a security force sent to protect them. Rudolf Cordes, the first German taken captive, was picked up just after arriving at Beirut airport. The second German hostage, Alfred Schmidt, was seized at his hotel.

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Where is Terry Waite? We believe Terry Waite is now being detained by the Hizballah elements holding the US hostages. The Anglican envoy has not been seen since 20 January, when he left his hotel and Druze militia protection. Rumors circulated in Beirut that he had gone to the Bekaa Valley or to southern Beirut to negotiate with elements of Hizballah for the release of Terry Anderson and Thomas Sutherland. Claiming it had reassurances from the Druze and other sources in Lebanon, the Anglican Church continued through the end of January to hold out hope for Waite's mission. In early February a senior Druze official told the US Embassy in Beirut that Waite had joined other hostages being held by Mughniyah

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Approved for Release: 2017/09/13 C05922883