[citation needed] The attackers took out "extremely powerful" grenades and blew themselves apart, killing themselves and disfiguring their bodies so badly that investigators were unable to identify who they were.

[1] The Palestinian Abu Nidal Organization, although it never claimed responsibility, was widely suspected of perpetrating the attack, which bore the group's stamp.

The Cabinet of Turkey arranged a special session shortly after on Prime Minister Turgut Özal's orders, who described the incident as "heinous" and "odious assault."

[1] President of the United States Ronald Reagan wrote a letter to the Jewish community of Istanbul sharply condemning the massacre.

"[1] Simon Wiesenthal Center associate dean Abraham Cooper said the massacre was a "resurrect[ion of] the imagery and savagery of the Holocaust.