Four Syrians in Lebanon have confessed to bombing two buses in a Christian mountain town last month the day before a planned protest in support of the democratically elected government in Beirut.
A general view shows one of two damaged buses following two bomb blasts in the Christian mountain town of Bikfaya north of Beirut February 13, 2007. Three people were killed and about 20 wounded in two bomb blasts that hit minibuses near Bikfaya town on Tuesday, February 13, 2007. (Reuters)
Ya Libnan has the latest:
Beirut- Four Syrians held by the Lebanese authorities have confessed to bombing two buses in Lebanon last month, killing three people and wounding 23, Lebanon’s interior minister said on Tuesday.
The blasts, which occurred minutes apart, tore through two buses traveling on a busy commuter road, killing three people and wounding 20. A higher death toll was averted because passengers from the second bus had rushed out to help the victims of the first explosion.
Hassan al-Sabaa said the men were members of Fateh al-Islam, a small Palestinian group which he linked to Syrian intelligence. Fateh al-Islam broke away last year from Fateh al-Intifada, another Palestinian group.
A fifth man, also Syrian, was on the run, Sabaa said.
“It is no secret that Fateh al-Islam is Fateh al-Intifada and Fateh al-Intifada is part of the Syrian intelligence-security apparatus,” Sabaa told reporters.
A Fatah Islam spokesman who identified himself as Abu Salim told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. that the group was innocent. “It is impossible for us to carry out such an act,” he said
Previously:
Bus Bombs in Lebanon