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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Man arrested for Lebanon bus shooting |
| 2009-12-24 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] Lebanese authorities have arrested a man suspected of opening fire on a Syrian bus in Lebanon this week and killing a 17-year-old passenger, an army officer said late on Tuesday. The man had "confessed under interrogation that he had personal motivations" for Monday's attack, an army spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity. Investigators were looking into the suspect's nationality and background, he said, adding he doubted the shooting was "a terrorist act." The bus carrying Syrian laborers was shot at as it travelled near an army checkpoint along the main highway between Syria and northern Lebanon. A 17-year-old laborer died and three other people were wounded by glass. The attack came a day after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri ended a fence-mending visit to Damascus, his first trip to Syria since the 2005 assassination of his father, ex-prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Saad Hariri and his U.S.-backed allies in Beirut blamed the killing on Syria, which has consistently denied any involvement. The killing prompted the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after a 29-year presence. His bloc also rode to victory on an anti-Syrian platform after his father's assassination in 2005. Hariri was appointed premier in June after his Western-backed bloc defeated a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran in a general election. |
| Posted by:Fred |