The investigation into last year's assassination of a Christian Cabinet minister points to the involvement of al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants, a Lebanese security official familiar with the case said Saturday. Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper also reported that police investigating the killing of former Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel turned up evidence that the Fatah Islam group battling the Lebanese army in northern Lebanon was behind the assassination.
Gemayel was shot dead by gunmen at an intersection north of Beirut on November 21 last year. His death was part of a string of other assassinations that are being investigated by a UN commission initially established to investigate the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Lebanon's ruling anti-Syrian coalition, including Gemayel's father, former President Amin Gemayel, have implied Syria was behind the assassinations - a charge Syria denies.