On October 23, 1983, 241 US service members were killed in the Beirut barracks bombings. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the wake of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, which took the lives of 241 US service members, then-President Ronald Reagan described the Middle East as a "powder keg." FILE - An Oct. 23, 1983 file photo shows the aftermath of a suicide truck bombing of the U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Four times in the last 30 years, the Arabs and Israelis have gone to war," Reagan added. AdvertisementAdvertisementWith tensions boiling, Washington is warning Americans throughout the Middle East to exercise caution and remain vigilant.

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Persons: Ronald Reagan, —, Hamas teetering, Reagan, Jim Bourdier, We've, Israel —, Lebanon Dorothy Shea Organizations: Service, Hamas, Corps, US, U.S, Marines, AP, United Nations, US Navy, Pentagon, U.S . Locations: Beirut, Israel, Iran, Lebanon's, Iwo Jima, Lebanon, Western Europe, Japan, Tehran, Gaza, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Palestinian, Washington