SECURITY FORCES MENTIONED IN BEIRUT’S EXPLOSIONS
Arabic News
Sept 18 2005
Lebanon-Syria, Politics, 9/17/2005
Lebanese parliamentarians on Saturday loomed to the responsibility of
the Lebanese security forces which worked during the Syrian presence
period for the al-Ashrafeyah explosions which took place on Friday
evening and killed one person and injured other 22.
Beirut’s parliamentarian Atef Majdalani, who belongs to al-Mustaqbal
( future) parliamentary bloc which is led by Saad al-Hariri, said
that this explosion is “part of the coward terrorist series which
will not stop before the discovering of the reality in the operation
of assassinating the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.”
For his part, Tripoli parliamentarian and member of the parliamentary
majority Elias Atta Allah said that even though former security
leaders are in prison, their security departments are still active.
Worthy mentioning that four leaders of the Lebanese security forces
close to Syria were arrested two weeks ago after they were accused
of being involved in the assassination of al-Hariri on February 14.
Al-Ashrafeyah explosion took place after the lifting of the banking
secrecy from the accounts of 8 Syrian and Lebanese figures suspected
to be involved in the assassination, at the request of the UN
investigating committee.
The Christian part of Beirut has witnessed 11 explosions since the
assassination of Hariri. Two of these explosions claimed the life of
the Lebanese journalist Samir al-Qasir and the leader of the former
Lebanese communist party George Hawi, opposers of the Syrian existence
in Lebanon.
The Lebanese security sources said the explosion resulted from a bomb
of 10 to 20 kg weight, adding that it was implanted under stairway
of a building rather than inside or under a car as stated earlier.
The explosions which took place near a branch for the Lebanese
Bablous Bank in al-J’eitawi suburb in al-Ashrafeyag area of a
Christian majority.
The explosion resulted in the collapse of the facade of one building
and destruction of its balconies, adding that the Lebanese security
forces cordoned the site of the explosion.
Lebanese security and medical sources said that the explosion resulted
in killing one elderly man (Armenian) and injuring of 22 persons one
of them is in a critical condition.
The explosion also resulted in setting fire in three cars which were
stationed near the site of the explosion and damages were inflected
in the nearby buildings.