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Jamal Lya

Jamal Lya (1969-19 July 1994) was a Hezbollah suicide bomber who was responsible for the bombing of Alas Chiricanas Flight 901.

Biography[]

Jamal Lya was born between 1966 and 1969 (probably in Lebanon) to a Shia Muslim family, and he was known to weigh 160 pounds. Lya did not speak English or Spanish, and he communicated instructions to people with hand signals or notes; he was believed to have spoken Arabic. On 19 July 1994, he boarded Alas Chiricanas Flight 901 as it left from French Field in Colon, Panama for Panama City, and he detonated a bomb on board the plane, killing himself and 20 others (including 12 Jews). His was the only body that was not identified, and it was tentatively identified by Panamanian authorities.

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