6 October 1981 Assassination of President Sadat of Egypt

President Sadat was attending the eighth anniversary of the Yom Kippur war with Israel as Field Marshal of the armed forces.

He had taken the salute, laid a wreath and was watching a display from the Egyptian Air Force when two grenades exploded. Gunmen then leapt from a military truck in front of the presidential reviewing stand and ran towards the spectators, raking officials with automatic gunfire.

Despite large numbers of security personnel for the ceremonial occasion, the attackers were able to keep shooting for well over a minute. By the time the president’s bodyguards returned fire at least ten people lay seriously injured or dead inside the stand.

Security forces then shot and killed two of the attackers and overpowered the rest, as crowds of military and civilian spectators scrambled for cover.

President Sadat was airlifted by helicopter to a military hospital but died a few  hours later.