Islamic Action in Iraq -- Suspected Alias/Ally

In August 1982, the previously unknown Movement of Islamic Action of Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Iraqi embassy cultural center in Paris.  The remote controlled bomb wounded six people, including three children of an embassy guard, and set fire to the cultural center. <P> In a call to a French news agency, a representative of the Movement of Islamic Action of Iraq identified his group as a Shiite Muslim faction that supports the Islamic extremists of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni in the Iran-Iraq war. <P><br /><br />Iraqi Cultural Counselor Chesir Alfannarrai said personnel in the center saw "a man arrive in a small truck, leave it running in the middle of the street and then run away. The vehicle exploded a few moments later thanks probably to a remote control system." <P><br /><br />The Islamic group claiming responsibility said the bomb was a warning to France not to aid Iraq.

If the Movement of Islamic Action of Iraq was indeed an alias for the established group Islamic Action in Iraq, it continues to be an active organization involved in both terrorism and politics in Iraq.

Formerly received assistance from Cuba, Angola, Algeria, Mozambique, and Nicaragua

The Movement of the Revolutionary Left was a Chilean terrorist organization active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s.  Throughout this time, the political landscape shifted dramatically more than once.  A notable characteristic of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left, also known by its Spanish acronym MIR, was its continuing use of terrorism regardless of the political administration in power.  During the years of MIR's existence, Chile was alternately ruled by a leftist political administration, a rightist dictatorship, and a moderate government.  While MIR consistently professed the goal of establishing a communist Chile, the group also maintained a one-track mind regarding criminal and terrorist activities.  <P> The Movement of the Revolutionary Left was founded by leftist students at the University of Concepcion in 1965.  Two years later, the group began its terrorist and criminal activities.  That same year the group professed its adherence to Castroism, after which Cuba began sending financial assistance to MIR.  The Chilean political climate shifted dramatically five years after MIR's founding.  <P> In 1970, Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile.  During his presidency, Allende granted amnesty to a number of communist/socialist organizations.  Despite ample opportunity to participate legally in the political process, MIR continued its terrorist attacks during Allende's presidency.  MIR claimed that terrorist actions would convince Allende that political participation for socialist organizations was not enough, and thereby prompt Allende to create a Marxist state in Chile.  MIR could not have been more wrong.  MIR's policy of actively terrorizing Chilean civilians while enjoying the amnesty of Allende's government created the appearance that Allende was an active supporter of Communist terrorism.  President Allende was overthrown in 1973 by a military coup.