<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/international/middleeast/15cnd-beirut.html?pagewanted=print&position=>
The New York Times February 15, 2005 Blast in Lebanon May Have Been Suicide Bomber, Officials Say By HASSAN M. FATTAH and LEENA SAIDI BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 15 - Initial investigations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri indicated that the enormous blast could have been set off by a suicide car bomber, Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh said today. The vehicle appeared to have been in motion and to have approached its target before exploding, he said at a news conference. In addition, the crater left by the blast was in the middle of the road, an indication the car was not parked at the roadside when it exploded, Mr. Franjieh said. A Palestinian saying he was a suicide bomber with a previously unknown group claimed in a videotape on Monday that he intended to kill Mr. Hariri, and security forces stormed his house, which they found empty. Justice Minister Adnan Addoum said he "did not think" the claim was credible and inferred it might be an attempt to mislead the investigation. But he did not dismiss the claim altogether, saying whoever was responsible was trying to exploit the unsettled situation between Lebanon and Syria. Mr. Franjieh said that a hair found at the Palestinian's house had been sent for testing to see if it matched hair found on remains at the scene of the blast. As the Lebanese Army went on alert, Mr. Franjieh also told reporters that the elections in Lebanon would go ahead as planned, in May. The police said today that the death toll in the blast was at least 14, up from the 11 reported on Monday, with about 130 wounded. Mosque minarets across Beirut blared out readings from the Koran today and streets were deserted as schools, shops and offices shut down for three days of official mourning. The funeral of Mr. Hariri, 60, a billionaire politician who resigned as prime minister in October to protest Syria's continuing influence here, is planned for Wednesday. He will be buried, along with six bodyguards and a paramedic killed in the attack on the grounds of an unfinished mosque in central Baghdad, part of the city that Mr. Hariri helped to develop. The mosque is less than a mile from the site of the explosion, and huge crowds are expected. In Washington Monday, the Bush administration said that the attack was "a terrible reminder" of the need for Lebanon to break free from Syria, which maintains 15,000 troops in the country, and that it was studying whether to increase sanctions on Syria, which it accuses of supporting terrorism. Syria rejected the charge and condemned the bombing as criminal. Syria's vice president, Abdel-Halim Khaddam, was among thousands of people who filed through Mr. Hariri's house to pay condolences today. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the southern city of Sidon, Mr. Hariri's hometown, shouting slogans and blaming President Bashar al-Assad of Syria for the blast. Investigators found the engine block of the vehicle that carried the bomb, which security forces said had the explosive force of 660 pounds of dynamite, the Reuters news agency reported. The engine had been thrown about 50 yards by the blast, the agency said. In the explosion, which ripped a 30-foot crater in the street, six bodyguards and five passers-by were also killed, and more that 100 people were wounded. A former minister of economy under Mr. Hariri, Bassem Flaeihan, who was in the convoy, was in critical condition. The bomb went off at midday in one of Beirut's wealthiest sections along the Mediterranean, demolishing one building, damaging many others and shattering windows blocks away. For many who came to see the site of the bombing on Monday night, the scene was reminiscent of the kind of bombings that befell Lebanon during 15 years of civil war. "This didn't just target one man but all of Lebanon," said Gebran Tuweni, a member of the opposition movement and publisher of the Lebanese newspaper An Nahar. "It has shaken the country to the core. But the response now is to face off these encroachments as a united front." Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, �mile Lahoud, said Mr. Hariri, his political rival, had died a "martyr for a united Lebanon." It remained a mystery at day's end on Monday who had killed Mr. Hairi. As the pivotal figure in Lebanon's political and economic life of the last two decades, doubtless many wished him ill. "One of the dilemmas of modern Lebanon is there are so many potential people who could have done this thing," said Rami Khouri, editor at large of the Daily Star, Beirut's English-language paper. "But there also five to six dimensions of his character that could have generated opposition." On Monday evening, a broadcast on the satellite channel Al Jazeera showed a man claiming to be a suicide bomber with a previously unknown militant group calling itself Victory and Jihad in Greater Syria. The speaker said he intended to kill Mr. Hariri for his support of the Saudi royal family. Lebanese security forces stormed the house of a Palestinian man named Ahmad Abu Adas, believed to be the man on the tape, who had been missing all day. This led some experts to suggest that the culprit could be Al Qaeda, which has long made the Saudi royal family a target. "This serves no one's interests at a critical time," said Mustafa Hamarneh, director of the Center for Research and Strategic Studies in Amman, Jordan. "It was spectacular and meant to be seen." Lebanon is a country of delicate confessional balance among Christians, Sunni and Shiite Muslims and Druse. Its civil war, from 1975 to 1990, saw the groups pitted viciously against one another, abetted by interference from Palestinians, Israel and Syria. While it has maintained reconstruction and calm in recent years, fear lurks just below the surface that the strife could return. Mr. Hariri was a close confidant of the Saudi royal family and enjoyed its largess. He was often accused of having given Saudi Arabia greater influence in the region through his position as prime minister. Lebanon has long been a playground for vacationing Saudis, and it became more so after Sept. 11, 2001, when visas to Europe and the United States were harder to come by. Yet many here accused Syria or rogue elements in the Syrian security services as the likely hand behind the bombing. Mr. Hariri tentatively supported a growing chorus of Lebanese politicians who supported a United Nations call for Syria to pull out of Lebanon. He and Mr. Lahoud were bitter rivals, and Mr. Hariri quit as prime minister after Syria strong-armed the Lebanese Parliament into amending the Constitution to extend Mr. Lahoud's term in office. Syrian officials moved quickly to condemn the assassination. In a statement made through the government-run news agency, SANA, President Bashar al-Assad called the killing of Mr. Hariri a "terrible criminal action." He emphasized Syria's "brotherly" feelings toward Lebanon, and suggested that those responsible sought to "plant a schism among the children of one people." In Damascus, even some Syrians wondered. Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian novelist and political analyst, said he feared that some members of the Syrian government might see Mr. Hariri's death as calculated to make other nations change their minds about enforcing the United Nations resolution calling on foreign troops to leave Lebanon. "They might have thought that, in the uproar, people would start thinking about what a mess Lebanon would be in if the Syrians left," Mr. Abdulhamid said. On Monday evening, members of the Lebanese opposition movement issued a statement holding Syria and the Lebanese government negligent in Mr. Hariri's death. Mr. Tuweni, who signed the statement, called for the dissolution of the government and for an international investigation into the assassination. Mr. Hariri made his fortune in the construction business in Saudi Arabia, then returned to his war-ravaged country in 1990 with a vision of restoring it to its former glory. Through Solidere, the company he formed and partly owned, he spearheaded a reconstruction project that slowly brought Beirut back to life, complete with its art deco architecture. In some cases, Solidere rebuilt bombed-out buildings with the same drawings and engineering plans used to build the originals. Mr. Hariri was elected prime minister in 1992 and served three terms, shepherding the reconstruction of the country and serving as a symbol of stability that attracted many Lebanese �migr�s to return. In the process, he helped take Lebanon off the front pages and into the travel section, enticing foreign investment and development into the country. Saudi investment, especially, became a lifeline for the debt-ridden country of four million. Saudis and other Persian Gulf Arabs have been prime buyers in the newly revived Beirut central district. In a country where the average worker makes less than $500, some fancy apartments now reach $3 million or more. But Lebanon's peace has remained fledgling. On Monday night, many Lebanese feared the killing could well bring surviving religious and ethnic factions to blows again. "I'm afraid of what this means for us all," said Ahmad Taqoush, a clerical worker who viewed the wreckage on Monday night. "This was intended to make sure we stay divided." Hassan M. Fattah and Leena Saidi reported from Beirut for this article and Katherine Zoepf contributed reporting from Damascus. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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