Lebanon nabs man linked to car bomb that killed Jihad militants
Lebanese security official says the man was directly involved in the bombing and has links to Israel.
By ReutersBEIRUT - Lebanon said on Saturday it had arrested a man who was a key mastermind in a car bombing that killed a senior official of a violent Palestinian militant group and who has links to Israeli intelligence.
Israel has dismissed accusations from the militant group Islamic Jihad that it was behind the May 26 attack which killed senior official Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother Nidal, also a member of Islamic Jihad, in the southern city of Sidon.
"Military intelligence was able to arrest one of the key people involved in the bombing that led to the martyrdom of the Majzoub brothers," the army said in a statement.
"Documents and equipment linked with the crime were seized with him, and he has links to the intelligence of the Israeli enemy."
A senior security official told Reuters the suspect's links with Israel were "100 percent" confirmed but declined to elaborate. There was no comment from Israeli officials.
Two days after the explosion, rockets fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel wounded an Israel Defense Forces soldier, prompting Israel to launch air strikes against Syrian-backed Palestinian and Lebanese guerrillas.
Islamic Jihad denied it had claimed responsibility for the rocket attack into northern Israel although it had earlier vowed revenge for the Majzoub killings. The group is dedicated to Israel's destruction and has killed scores of people in suicide bombings inside Israel.
Several Palestinian militants and officials of Lebanese-based militant group Hezbollah have been killed in Lebanon in recent years in attacks their organizations have blamed on Israel, which withdrew its forces from south Lebanon in 2000.
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It would be useful if you could get your facts correct. The IRA Active Service Unit shot were not in Spain, but outside the Shell petrol station on Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar. As for them being unarmed how do you explain the Spanish Police, not SAS or Gibraltar Police, finding in the boot of their other car 64kg. of Semtex, four detonators and 200 rounds of ammunition. If that is your defintion of unarmed, what would they have to have to be armed? It's one thing to pontificate from the safety of Sweden about terrorism, those of us who have had to put up with 30 years of IRA terrorism might take a different view.
-UN inquiry into Hariri Assassination reports `considerable progress` (Reuters)
It is difficult to believe that it is a link to legitimate Israeli sources. The person, if such a person existed, would no longer be in Lebanon, and would certainly have no paper intelligence on him.
Chris, please tell me in what way you can draw a comparison between (1) the assassination of a former, democratically-elected prime minister on the orders of the unelected, authoritarian oligarchy in Syria and (2) the elimination of a violent, uncompromising militant leader carried out on the orders of a democratically-elected government whose citizens were constantly threatened by that militant leader? If you really think the two are equivalent, then why do you bother to read Haaretz?
i think the israeli government knows better than to leave an operative in lebanon after the mission is over. This news report is nothing more than propaganda.
Chris, who is going to investigate and determine if the israelis were involved? Hizbulah, Emile Lahoud, Michel Aoun or syrian intelligence? The israelis already said they were not involved. State sponsored terrorism? By Lebanon? Do you see how your accusations are so predictible and your analysis so immature and onesided? Are you aware what is going on in Lebanon? I will be watching...
international terrorism as you call it. Brit SAS goons shooting of 4 unarmed Irish at a gasoline station in Spain,just because they had happened to be members of the IRA. UN must get involved "Chris",I don't see a way out of it.
Could this possibly be state sponsored terrorism on a soveriegn country? This could actually be the most important story of the weekend. If Israel is involved in this then an appointment with the UN might be in order. Before anyone complains about my post. Please note I said IF ISRAEL IS INVOLVED
and will not give citizenship to pals coming here to Europe,the way Lebanese don't do it. Is this what you wanted to say,Amir?
Let's hope that the investigation into the assassination of Hariri is helped from the recent arrest by this "Israeli link".