Egyptian raid on Larnaca International Airport | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Brigadier General Sogri | Lt Colonel Andreas Ιosifides | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
60-75 commandos [1] [2] | 65 persons - one infantry platoon from 395 Battalion (35 persons with two 0.50 M2 Brownings and two M40 A/T guns) and a commando platoon (30 persons) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
15 commandos killed[3] 3 members of the C-130 crew killed 18 commandos wounded 1 C-130 aircraft destroyed 1 Jeep all-terrain vehicle destroyed | 8 injuries reported | ||||||
Both hijackers surrender |
On 19 February 1978, Egyptian special forces raided Larnaca International Airport near Larnaca, Cyprus, in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking. Earlier, two assassins had killed prominent Egyptian newspaper editor Yusuf Sibai and then captured as hostages several Arabs who were attending a convention in Nicosia.[3] As Cypriot forces were trying to negotiate with the hostage-takers at the airport, Egyptian troops began their own assault without authorization from the Cypriots. The unauthorized raid resulted in the Egyptians and the Cypriots exchanging gunfire, killing or injuring more than 20 of the Egyptian commandos.[3] As a result, Egypt and Cyprus severed political ties for several years after the incident.
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