caused them to prematurely detonate their explosives. It turned out that the dead policeman, Pacheco, was familiar with the embassy. He had rushed to the scene after hearing about the attack over the radio and climbed into the room where the gunmen were holding hostages. He was killed in the explosion. Around the same time, one of the hostages, 17-year-old Atasay, jumped through the first-floor window of the residence, but was wounded in the leg by attackers as he fled. Escape of the hostage and interference of Pacheco might have prompted the gunmen to detonate the explosives. The Portuguese Interior Minister Eduardo Pereira said that "the terrorists clearly planned to occupy the embassy for a number of days, seizing a large number of hostages in order to make a major impact on public opinion." Police officials revealed that the two cars were filled with food and explosives, suggesting that the gunmen were prepared for a long siege. Aftermath The Armenian Revolutionary Army claimed responsibility for the attack. A typewritten message signed by the Armenian Revolutionary Army delivered to The Associated Press office in Lisbon said: "We have decided to blow up this building and remain under the collapse. This is not suicide, nor an expression of insanity, but rather our sacrifice to the altar of freedom." The group said the attack had been carried out because "Turkey and its allies refused to acknowledge the genocide of Armenians". The attackers entered the country through Lisbon Airport as tourists bearing Lebanese passports. They reserved hotel rooms from a public telex in Beirut and rented three cars in Lisbon. From the documents found in the hotel rooms, the police identified the five as Setrak Ajamian, 19 years old; Ara Kuhrjulian, 20; Sarkis Abrahamian, 21; Simon Yahniyan, 21, and Vache Daghlian, 19 (known in Armenian sources as "The Lisbon five"). They were buried in Beirut at the Armenian national cemetery in Bourj Hammoud. In addition to impacting relations between Armenians and Turks, the Lisbon attack also prompted changes to U.S. national security strategy. Namely, Ronald Reagan reportedly took note of the embassy attack and reacted emotionally, because it involved a female victim (i.e. Cahide Mıhçıoğlu). Reagan is quoted as saying: "That's it. We're going to work with other governments and put a stop to this once and for all." U.S. National Security Council member Oliver North then began drafting a National Security Decision Directive