November 22, 2008
Assassination attempt fails
A top Lebanese official is unhurt in car bomb - the first incident targeting a pro-Syria politician
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's deputy prime minister survived an assassination attempt yesterday, marking the first time a pro-Syrian politician has been targeted in the wave of bombings that has plagued this country in recent months.
Elias Murr, who is also defense minister, was slightly injured when a powerful bomb in a parked car exploded as his motorcade drove through a Beirut suburb. One of Murr's bodyguards was killed, and at least 12 other people were injured.
The assassination attempt highlighted Lebanon's tenuous state since Syria withdrew thousands of troops in April after 29 years of dominating its smaller neighbor. Many Lebanese have blamed Syria and its allies for a series of bombings that began with the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. That killing prompted international pressure and popular protests that led to the resignation of the Syrian-backed Lebanese prime minister and to the withdrawal of Syrian troops.
But the targeting of Murr, a prominent Christian leader and longtime Syrian ally, suggested that other forces could be at play in this country's treacherous politics. Some leaders of the anti-Syrian opposition, which won a majority in parliamentary elections last month, suggested Murr, 43, was targeted because he could be an important witness in a United Nations probe into Hariri's killing.
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"There is a plot to eliminate anyone who is able to provide information about the assassination of Hariri," opposition leader Walid Jumblatt told Lebanese TV. "We are still living under the old Syrian-Lebanese security regime."
Syria condemned the attempt on Murr's life. It also has denied any involvement in Hariri's killing and the assassinations last month of two anti-Syrian figures: journalist Samir Kassir and former Communist Party leader George Hawi.
Others noted that Murr had run-ins with Islamic militants last year as interior minister. In September, Murr announced that Lebanese security forces had uncovered a plot to bomb the Italian and Ukrainian embassies in Beirut, assassinate Western diplomats and attack Lebanese government buildings. Murr said the plan involved a group of Lebanese militants linked to al-Qaida.
Security forces arrested 10 people, including Ismail Khatib, who Murr claimed was the plot's ringleader and an al-Qaida member. Four days after his arrest, Khatib died in police custody. Officials said he had a heart attack, but his relatives blamed security forces. Khatib's hometown erupted in riots for several days, and his supporters called for Murr's resignation.
"The assassination attempt against Murr could be an act of revenge for his disrupting the al-Qaida plot, or for the death of the ringleader," said a Lebanese security official who asked not to be named. "There are hidden hands at play in the country."
The opposition, which is led by Hariri's son, Saad, hopes to use its new political clout to remove the last vestiges of Syrian influence. Its main targets are the country's security services and the Syrian-backed Lebanese president, Emile Lahoud, who is Murr's father-in-law.
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