Achille Lauro hijacking

Achille Lauro hijacking
Part of the Arab–Israeli conflict
The Achille Lauro c. 1987
LocationMS Achille Lauro off the Egyptian coast
DateOctober 7–10, 1985
Attack type
Hijacking and hostage crisis
WeaponsFirearms and hand grenades
Deaths1
PerpetratorsPalestine Liberation Front
MotivePublicity of Palestinian issues and release of Palestinian prisoners

The Achille Lauro hijacking took place on 7 October 1985, when the Italian ocean liner MS Achille Lauro was hijacked by four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria to Ashdod, Israel. A 69-year-old Jewish American man in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer, was murdered by the hijackers and thrown overboard. The hijacking sparked the "Sigonella Crisis".