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LAX Marks 12th Anniversary Of Terror Attack On Israeli Airliner

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Diplomats and family members were on hand for a memorial service Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in honor of two people who were killed in a July 4, 2002 terror attack on an Israeli airliner.

Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, a 41-year-old Irvine resident and Egyptian national, fatally shot Vicky Hen, who was working behind the ticket counter for El Al, Israel's national airline, and Yaakov Aminov, a 46-year-old diamond importer from North Hollywood who had gone to the airport to see a friend off.

Avi Hen, whose 25-year-old daughter Vicky was shot and killed in the attack, was among those who gathered on the arrivals level of the airport opposite Terminal 6 to remember the victims.

"I love my daughter, like everybody loves their children, and we miss her a lot," he said as he laid flowers at a memorial display adorned with his daughter's name.

Hadayet, who was apparently despondent over his failing limousine service business and other personal problems, was slain by an El Al security guard.

He also cited Israel's treatment of Palestinians when he committed the killings, according to the FBI, which classified the shootings as a terrorist attack.

The identity of the gunman was revealed after FBI agents searched his home in Irvine, which they said had a sign on the door saying: "Read the Koran", according to CBS News.

Israeli Consul General Danny Gadot, Klaus Hackel, El Al's LAX station chief in 2002, , and Nonie Darwish, the founder of Arabs for Israel and a human rights activist, were also on hand to attend the memorial.

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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