Beirut car bomb explodes; head of intelligence killed; it's not even Israel

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Originally Posted by al-Jazeera

A prominent Lebanese security official is among the dead in a car bombing in the capital Beirut that has killed at least eight people and wounded up to 80 others.
Wissam al-Hassan, intelligence chief of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), was the brain behind uncovering a recent bomb plot that led to the arrest of Michel Samaha, a Lebanese politician close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been accused of trying to help smuggle explosives into Lebanon.
The ISF was also deeply involved in seeking the arrest of those responsible for a host of attacks and assassinations between 2005 and 2008, starting with the murder of Rafik al-Hariri.
Friday's rush-hour car bombing has raised fears of renewed sectarian violence in a country still scarred from a long civil war. Hassan was seen as close to Saad Hariri, leader of the March 14 alliance and a son of the slain former prime minister.
When asked who was responsible for the killing, Saad Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister himself, replied: "Bashar Hafez al-Assad."
"Who killed Wissam al-Hassan is as clear as day. Certainly the Lebanese people will not be silent over this heinous crime and I, Saad Hariri, promise that I will not be silent,"
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Beirut, said that the exact details of how the explosion killed Hassan were still unclear.
“Wissam al-Hassan is a very prominent figure in Lebanon. He played a key role in pursuing the killers of Rafiq al-Hariri, and one of his most recent achievements is the capturing and arrest of Michel Samaha," she said.
"He is a very controversial figure for the March 8 alliance. He was a key figure in supporting the armed opposition in Syria, and the March 14 alliance is going to take this explosion much more seriously.
"This killing will stir a lot of tensions."

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For me, personally, this is really bizarre. I was in Achrafieh last July and we stayed in a hotel some kilometer away from Sassine square, so it kinda hits home. In the meantime, former prime minister Hariri (whose father died in a 2006 car bomb, which was also linked to the Syrian regime) has wasted no time in holding the Assad responsible.

As of the moment, I've created a seperate thread, but should new information arise that it definitely was the Syrian regime, the moderators could add it to the Syrian thread.

sniff sniff, yes bull

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Originally Posted by Fragony

sniff sniff, yes bull

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As in, you don't think the Syrian government would do such a thing? Or do you doubt the guy died at all?

Anyway;

isn't it more plausible that Hezbollah was solely responsible in this case? I realize that they're alligned to Assad's regime, and probably were co-involved in Hariri's murder in 2006, but I never pictured them as being on Assad's leash. Is Hariri junion refraining from naming Hezbollah as the perpetrator for political reasons?

This is between sunni's and shiite's, sunni's are pro-rebel and shii's pro Assad.

Yeah, what about the Christians, Druze and Jews?

As an insane sociopathic Christian I can totally get behind on the "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH CRUSADE" bandwagon, but still.

Not that many Jews in Lebanon anymore, sadly :(

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Originally Posted by Hax

Not that many Jews in Lebanon anymore, sadly :(

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Yes, well, there is that.