A bomb placed by a rebel Jihad group in a container in location 13-R in the forward cargo hold caused the destruction of the aircraft. In 2007 a memorial was created in the desert by Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, an association of the victims’ families. The memorial is constructed of black rock in the shape and dimensions of the DC10 airplane inside a compass, with one of the plane's wings used as a compass point, and over 170 broken mirrors to reflect the victims of the crash.