 The Lebanese government said initial investigations indicate former Premier Rafik Hariri was killed by a suicide bomber. The government also firmly ruled out calls for an international probe into Hariri's assassination in which 13 other people were killed and more than 130 wounded according to official estimates.
| "Nope. Nope. Can't do it." |
Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh said: "The security services are almost sure that it was a suicide car bomb. It is not a final conclusion, but it is almost sure." Commenting on a French proposal to allow outside investigators to examine the evidence surrounding Hariri's murder, Franjieh added: "An international inquiry is unacceptable. Investigators will, if necessary, call upon experts from neutral countries."
| If they actually want to solve it, they might consider calling on investigators selected for their competence, rather than recruiting some Uruguayans or Fiji Islanders... |
Franjieh said investigations had shown that the explosion, which ripped through Hariri's motorcade, killing the former premier along with 13 other people, occurred in the middle of the street, ruling out earlier speculation that the blast was caused by a booby-trapped car parked on the roadside. But since Hariri's convoy was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment capable of jamming or disabling remote-control detonators, speculation has arisen that the explosion may have resulted from a bomb placed in a manhole under the street and detonated manually as his car passed over it. A previously unheard of group calling itself Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria claimed responsibility for the murder, but military experts told The Daily Star that the attack was more likely to be the work of a technically sophisticated group with access to hi-tech explosives. The primary suspect, Lebanese based Palestinian refugee Ahmed Tayseer Abu al-Ads, who security officials say appeared in a videotape claiming responsibility, remains at large despite police attempts to find him.
| ... though they're still picking through the rubble. |
But a statement attributed to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda denied that Hariri was killed by Islamists and blamed either the Israeli Mossad or the Lebanese or Syrian regimes for the attack.
| I can't really think of any reason for the Mossad to bump him off. The Syrians are a different story, which is why our ambassador's pulled up stakes... |
The statement, posted on the Internet in the name of the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Levant, said the previous statement was mere fabrication, adding: "The priorities of the Jihad groups in the Levant are to support our brethren in Iraq and Palestine, not blow up cars."
| "We blow up cars in others places, not here. It just wouldn't be right..." |
Security sources told The Daily Star that the suicide attack theory was extremely probable. The sources said two of Hariri's cars lost their tracking devices after the blast, while the third became stuck, jamming mobile communications in Beirut for over two hours. They said that the remains of an unknown car were also found at the scene. According to the source, a computer was seized by the Interior Security Forces from Ads' home for investigation. Meanwhile, more than 24 hours after the assasination, the Civil Defense forces were still looking for body parts possibly trapped under the rubble. The entire bomb site remained cordoned off throughout the day, as construction workers cleared debris from surrounding hotels and high rise buildings. |