On December 26, 2024, marks 30 years since the Air France 8969 hostage crisis in 1994, when four terrorists from the Armed Islamic Group held 172 hostages in an aircraft. This article revisits the dramatic 54-hour standoff and the elite…

The December 1994 hijacking of an Air France flight from Algiers to Paris by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) resulted in three deaths but could have been far worse. After 54 hours, the French elite GIGN stormed the aircraft, safely…

In 1976, the GIGN, France’s elite police unit, faced its first major challenge when 31 French schoolchildren were taken hostage in Djibouti. The operation, known as ‘Mission Loyada,’ showcased a groundbreaking tactic called ‘simultaneous firing.’ Under intense pressure, the team…