This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/world/middleeast/hezbollah-leader-is-assassinated-in-beirut.html
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Hezbollah Military Leader Is Assassinated in Lebanon | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — A military leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah movement was assassinated in front of his home south of Beirut, Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — A military leader of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah movement was assassinated in front of his home south of Beirut, Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday. |
| The killing, which came shortly after Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, accused Saudi Arabia of responsibility for last month’s deadly bombing at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, fueled fears of an escalation of tit-for-tat violence inside Lebanon related to the conflict in neighboring Syria. | The killing, which came shortly after Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, accused Saudi Arabia of responsibility for last month’s deadly bombing at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, fueled fears of an escalation of tit-for-tat violence inside Lebanon related to the conflict in neighboring Syria. |
| But questions continued to swirl about how, why and by whom the military leader, Hassane Laqees, was targeted. Lebanese news reports said that he was gunned down in a parking lot near an apartment where he stayed or worked, which is near but not inside the security zone that Hezbollah maintains around its headquarters in southern Beirut. | But questions continued to swirl about how, why and by whom the military leader, Hassane Laqees, was targeted. Lebanese news reports said that he was gunned down in a parking lot near an apartment where he stayed or worked, which is near but not inside the security zone that Hezbollah maintains around its headquarters in southern Beirut. |
| Hezbollah did not say how he was killed but accused “the Israeli enemy” of targeting him and said Israel would have to “bear all the responsibility and ramifications of this vile crime.” Israeli officials denied involvement. | Hezbollah did not say how he was killed but accused “the Israeli enemy” of targeting him and said Israel would have to “bear all the responsibility and ramifications of this vile crime.” Israeli officials denied involvement. |
| At the same time, memorial images circulated on social media showing him against a backdrop of the Sayida Zeinab shrine near Damascus, in Syria, framing his death as part of the conflict there. And a previously unknown group calling itself the Free Sunnis of Baalbek, a town in the Bekaa Valley where Hezbollah support is strong, claimed responsibility for the killing. | At the same time, memorial images circulated on social media showing him against a backdrop of the Sayida Zeinab shrine near Damascus, in Syria, framing his death as part of the conflict there. And a previously unknown group calling itself the Free Sunnis of Baalbek, a town in the Bekaa Valley where Hezbollah support is strong, claimed responsibility for the killing. |
| Hezbollah, a Shiite organization and close ally of Iran and of Syria’s government, has sent fighters to defend the shrine and to aid President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in other key battles, a decision that has enraged Hezbollah’s Sunni rivals, who back the Syrian rebels. | Hezbollah, a Shiite organization and close ally of Iran and of Syria’s government, has sent fighters to defend the shrine and to aid President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in other key battles, a decision that has enraged Hezbollah’s Sunni rivals, who back the Syrian rebels. |
| Israeli officials said that they believed Mr. Laqees was targeted by radical Sunnis in Lebanon as part of sectarian tensions over the war in Syria. | Israeli officials said that they believed Mr. Laqees was targeted by radical Sunnis in Lebanon as part of sectarian tensions over the war in Syria. |
| Hezbollah, in keeping with the deep secrecy surrounding its military structure and operations, did not specify what role Mr. Laqees played in the organization or how senior he was. But Matthew Levitt, the author of “Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God,” said that in the late 1990s Mr. Laqees had been a “very, very senior” figure, in charge of procuring supplies for Hezbollah from Canada, including computers and night-vision goggles. | Hezbollah, in keeping with the deep secrecy surrounding its military structure and operations, did not specify what role Mr. Laqees played in the organization or how senior he was. But Matthew Levitt, the author of “Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God,” said that in the late 1990s Mr. Laqees had been a “very, very senior” figure, in charge of procuring supplies for Hezbollah from Canada, including computers and night-vision goggles. |
| According to information gathered by the F.B.I. and other agencies during an investigation of cigarette smuggling by Hezbollah in Charlotte, N.C., Mr. Laqees was in close touch with Imad Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah commander later assassinated by Israel. | According to information gathered by the F.B.I. and other agencies during an investigation of cigarette smuggling by Hezbollah in Charlotte, N.C., Mr. Laqees was in close touch with Imad Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah commander later assassinated by Israel. |
| But since then, he had largely dropped from view, in part because of his exposure in that case, Mr. Levitt said. | But since then, he had largely dropped from view, in part because of his exposure in that case, Mr. Levitt said. |
| Analysts said that Mr. Laqees could have been a high-level target of opportunity for Sunni militants in Lebanon or could have been targeted for possible involvement in Syria. | Analysts said that Mr. Laqees could have been a high-level target of opportunity for Sunni militants in Lebanon or could have been targeted for possible involvement in Syria. |
| Hezbollah has blamed previous attacks on Israel rather than point the finger at Sunni militants in what analysts view as a signal that the group, which is also Lebanon’s strongest political party, does not want to escalate sectarian tensions inside Lebanon. | Hezbollah has blamed previous attacks on Israel rather than point the finger at Sunni militants in what analysts view as a signal that the group, which is also Lebanon’s strongest political party, does not want to escalate sectarian tensions inside Lebanon. |
| The Hezbollah statement said that Mr. Laqees had dedicated his life “to the honorable resistance from its first days to his final hours” and noted that he lost a son in the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. | The Hezbollah statement said that Mr. Laqees had dedicated his life “to the honorable resistance from its first days to his final hours” and noted that he lost a son in the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. |
| Lebanese security officials told The Associated Press that gunmen had opened fire on Mr. Laqees while he was inside his car near an apartment building in the Hadath neighborhood, one of Beirut’s southern suburbs. He died later in the hospital from his wounds, the officials said. | Lebanese security officials told The Associated Press that gunmen had opened fire on Mr. Laqees while he was inside his car near an apartment building in the Hadath neighborhood, one of Beirut’s southern suburbs. He died later in the hospital from his wounds, the officials said. |
Jodi Rudoren contributed reporting from Jerusalem. | Jodi Rudoren contributed reporting from Jerusalem. |