Approved For Release 2003/04
PROJECT'S
8808
DATES
18 FEB 88
VIEWER:
079
r<
SUMMARY
us Marine Corps LTC Higgins s.s abducted about tour to
.is
m i ibb south
ot
Tyre,
Lebanon,
by a Shiite group
of
minor
•»
•,
...
....
....
+•
i
j
<:::
rj-f
I’.’. h 0
X V" & H 3 -
insiqni-ficance within
the overall
«i|.i|..)ai
sponsored group
known
as the Hetbollah
taction.
There are seven
captors,
ail
male,
responsible tor guarding,
teeding,
and movmg
tn thP
next.
The general
strategy
the prisoner
from one
<*t ea
Lu
uh...
Mill
consist
ot
moving LTC Higgins by automobiie.
Generaiiy
speaking
he .ill
be driven
about
five miles south
ot
Tyre,
and
,
.
vnrvMipr
f
-j ve
to
ten
m:i. i0£>ji
-f
i- uoi
then
in
an easterly direction
+ur
anuLhci
-
.
•
...
...
•: ,i7 an route
whi le heading
thence LTC Higgins will
be driven
•
in
a general
northerly direction
to arrive
in Beirut
on
17 March
1988 .
fit that
time,
LTC Higgins «m
be held hostage
in
an area
in
ciose proximity to the other
hostages.
LTC Higgins will
not
be hurt
or
killed,
but
he will
be on the move tor some time.
fit
,
.
r,]
Of fort
to
keep
track
of
time,
this time,
he
is making
a
.1-4.1
t.-. c 1 u 1
-
,
nrl_
- nr
i
other
cues
to determine his
(;j a t e
s
,
d
:i. st an c es ,
suu 1 ids
«*n u
u
v..
.
..
ij r ,
c;
i
I
i:W somewhat
in
a state
of
shod,
at
whereabouts.
He
is
...» c.
.1.
.1.
.1.
being captured ;
he will
develop
a
further strategy
on how to
react
to his captors.
Dependent
on
the applicability
of
this
1...
....
....
1 1
r!
hp
r" 0
.1.
>vas
d
qui
t.
strategy,
his reaction to his captors,
he could
Ju
soon ^rr teho owg-
' h aBd—
In
any case,
he
wi 1
after
the
17th
of
March
1988 ,
and before the other hostages
(Gardes
in June and Waite
in August
1988 ).
The Shiite captors
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00789R003400750001-2
Approved For Release 2003/04/JW
SEfiffiF
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will
use
a
"big black Mercedes",
a limousine type automobile to
move
LTC Higgins.
The registration
tag consists
of
black
letters on
a white background
and seem to bear the letters
"PLNIM "
.
A
"
red
sign"
(sticker)
is affixed
to one side
of
the
rear
of
the
car;
the red sticker serves as
a
"laissez
passer",
a
type
of
official
pass.
In
two
or three days he will
be held
in
c: ap t i v
:
:i. t y
i n
an
ar e<a that
:i. s
usi-0 cl
aS
ort
of
politic al
assemb 1 y
type
p
j. a c\ a
site where
pa 1 i t i c:al
ra]L 1 i es
>i
meet i ngs ta k e
p 1 ac: e
n
< 0!
1"
i er
source;*s
i ndi
i::::ate
Be•aut or•t
Cas-I
1 e as
<a location
of
spec i f i c:
i n t.
(:•?re
i„
“i”
i.
1::> L
H
ll ') a
c a p t
iors
wi
I
sic&y
a i
ian
o 1 d
(Lebanese)
g oV0 r n iTi0 H t
hots
to
mon:iL tor
TV and
r«:\d i o
1:
•) r oadciasts
. to
e v a 1 ua t e
t h ®
r eac t i on
to
'the
k i d n a
|Op i n'g
«
LTC
Hi g g i n sii>
W i i
.1.
be
hel d
at
a nearby shel ter
„
At
1that
t i me
(!
t h B
C a j;;) t or s
wi 1
meet
1w
:l t h1
I....0banes®
Govenr n fynan t
als
( oin® such
„
/•
I
.v;
Frpnc::h
soun d
:l. n q
of f i c
:i.
Lebai
it:
v.v:
l.n
i
i...
J.
naiTna)
;}
rep re ?:>en t a t
:i. V 0 1::>
O f
F i nliand
wi
[I. 1
e\ 1 SO take part
i n
the
n 0 g at
:i. a t
:i. o i
"1 s
The US Govern meint
wi 1 1
n c;:*g ot
:i. a i e
v i a
1'
"i e
1"hi. nni si's
of f
:i. c i a J. s
f or
the
r e
.1. e ase
of
H
:i. ggi ns
L,,TC
Hi ggi ns
i
s
cur-rent 1 y
hei n g
h e 1 d
a n d
:i. s
f
t h y s i c a
.
1. 1 y
1 o c. a i e d
:i. n
a
d1 am p
l" un n e J.
w i 1::h
moss
on
top:s;
the tun nel
ap peari;»
t
be
som50
SC;:>r t
of
bridge;
he
w i 1 1
b e
un c amiFor tahl e
( damp /col d
)
•f OK"
the
nt>xt
1L wo
or
three
cfays,„
The
hot el
:i. s
1 oc: a i e cl
a
L
3 out
m i 1 0si
nor•th
<of
!" 1
i. s
p K" esen t
1 Oicat i on
:i. n dS
:i. c: <a ted
as:
•
i mmed:il at el
y
south
of
"f
:
i J.
b iavycixclah”
»
i he
h 1 ac: k
Her'cei:ie <b
w:i I 1
also
go thr ough
a
chec k p o i nt
at
"Rok"
( not
i n c:S
:i. e at ed
ori
the
m«::X
|J
)
.f
i
'l
t h a
i mmed
:i . ate
v i
<::inity
of
" Al
Na jad i 1
deni!>c r
:i. bed
asi>
a
"fr: i. end 1 y
f or cej"
(Letjanese
A ma 1
F or e: e J
-
cf^two
c c !! a S ion si,
1....TC
Hi g<:::j i n s
w i 11
be?
pi actsd
M dowii
and
under u
wel 1
h i c:lde n
to
e«;i>C a j."!* 0
d
lstect i
c;
n
1"•it
one
p o i nt
,
(possi tol
y
at
Beauf or
t
Approved For Release 2003/04/1
&6-00789R003400750001 -2
Approved For Release 2003/04/SECRET6-00789R003400750001 -2
Castle as
identified by other
sources)
he will
be videotaped
against
a white wall
background
in
a tall
slender structure next
to
a small
town.
This will
take place near
or
at
a structure
associated
with
the concept
of
historical
museum.
(Possibly
identifiable with Beaufort
Castle.)
This pa
ticular area
of
interest
(has
been)
will
be sold
to the Shiite group.”
Mews
of
Higgins will
"come out”
during
the period
of
45 days to 48 days
(3 to
& April
1988),
from now
(this
date).
The Shiite captors,
for whatever
reason,
do not consider
LTC Higgins
a
-'prize-
hostage
of
high political
value.
This particular splinter group
of
captors
is also quite disenchanted with
the major group
and
directions from
Iran.
As
a group the captor sjfsjel
this dirty
wortri- should
be given
to someone else.
There
is
internal
strife,
a feeling that Khomeini's rule
is affecting
(unfavorably)
everyone,
enemies and friends alike.
The fanatic dedication
to
the cause,
so to speak,
has greatly abated within this
splinter-
group .
Approved For Release 2003/04/18 SECRET0789R003400750001-2