1.
GV Amalia Hotel in Athens. (2 shots)
0.08

2.
SV People looking from balcony.
0.10

3.
SV Armed guard in street.
0.13

4.
GV Crowd outside El Al airline building.
0.22

5.
SV Police with machine guns.
0.24

6.
SV Press and onlookers.
0.29

7.
GV Armed police in streets and ambulance (2 shots)
0.38

8.
SV Photographer
0.40

9.
SV & GV Hotel and street.
0.46

10.
CU Ambassador's car
0.48

11.
SV Police in street controlling traffic
0.53

13.
SV & GV Arab commando in white shirt escorted out of hotel and into car (2 shots)
1.20



Initials VS. 22.28


TELERECORDING

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: An Arab gunman, who held 17 hostages at gunpoint in an Athens hotel, finally released them after the authorities had promised him safe conduct out of Greece yesterday (Thursday, July 19th). Earlier, the young Palestinian commando had failed in an apparent attempt to blow up the crowded offices of the Israeli El Al airline in Athens.

Foiled in the attempted attack by a plain-clothes policeman, the commando was chased by police, caught, but broke free to burst into the lobby of the Amalia Hotel, and seize everyone there hostage -- 20 people in all. Two people were later released, and an elderly lady slipped out with them.

For hours, the gunman threatened the remaining hostages with a machine-gun and a grenade. Finally, after hours of parleying, the ambassadors of Iraq and Libya and the Egyptian Charge d'Affaires persuaded the gunman to release the hostages in return for safe conduct out of Greece.

Two of the diplomats accompanied the gunman in a Iraqi Embassy limousine on the drive to the airport. He was flown to Kuwait and then onto another Arab country.