By: HISTORY.com Editors
Palestinians hijack German airliner
Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa airliner and demand the release of 11 imprisoned members of Germany’s Baader-Meinhof terrorist group, also known as the Red Army Faction. The Red Army Faction was a group of ultra-left revolutionaries who terrorized Germany for three decades, assassinating more than 30 corporate, military and government leaders in an effort to topple capitalism in their homeland.
The Palestinian hijackers took the plane on a six-country odyssey, eventually landing at Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 17, after shooting one of the plane’s pilots. Early the next morning, a German special forces team stormed the aircraft, releasing 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers. Only one of the German commandos was wounded. The Red Army Faction’s imprisoned leaders responded to the news later that day by committing suicide in their jail cell, in Stammheim, Germany.
How the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Began
Learn about the diverse religious and political history that brought about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. See how WWI and WWII influenced the establishment of the nation state of Israel in 1948, which gave rise to the Six-Day War, the Oslo Accords and Hamas.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- Palestinians hijack German airliner
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- October 21, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- May 27, 2025
- Original Published Date
- July 21, 2010