Survivors of 1983 Beirut attack horrified by Mideast violence iraqinews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iraqinews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Top military officials who gathered in Jacksonville, North Carolina, to mark the anniversary of the 1983 bombing noted the parallels between the Beirut attack and what is shaping up to be a new and tumultuous chapter in the Middle East.
On October 23, 1983, attacks on French and US military in Lebanon's capital Beirut left hundreds dead 40 years on, survivors are horrified at today's upsurge in violence."The silence has lasted 40 years, it's unacceptable," she said at the ceremony in Paris.
On Oct. 23, 1983, 241 U.S. servicemembers, including five from West Virginia, were killed in a suicide bombing at the United States Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.
US Ambassador to Beirut Dorothy Shea announced that Washington and the Lebanese people reject “the threats of some to drag Lebanon into a new war.” On Monday, the US Embassy in Beirut commemorated the 40th anniversary of the bombing of US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, when a suicide bomber blew up the headquarters, killing 241 American soldiers. Moments later, another explosion occurred at the French paratroopers headquarters, which killed 58 French paratroopers.