Lebanon prisoner is wanted Saudi terrorist leader, claim army DNA tests
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Version 0 of 1. DNA tests have confirmed that a man in Lebanese custody is the suspected leader of an al-Qaida-linked group that has claimed responsibility for bombings across the Middle East, the Lebanese army said on Friday. In a brief statement, the army said the tests show that the detained man is indeed Majid bin Muhammad al-Majid, a Saudi citizen and the commander of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades. Al-Majid is on Saudi Arabia's list of 85 most-wanted individuals, and the US state department has designated the group he leads a foreign terrorist organisation. The group has claimed responsibility for attacks throughout the region, including the 2010 bombing of a Japanese oil tanker in the Persian Gulf and several rocket attacks from Lebanon into Israel. The latest attack claimed by the group was the double bombing on 19 November of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, in which at least 23 people died and dozens were wounded. In 2012, the US declared the Abdullah Azzam Brigades a terrorist group. The state department's action froze any assets it holds in the US and banned Americans from doing business with the group. Earlier on Friday, families of those killed in the Iranian embassy bombing demanded that al-Majid be tried in Lebanon and not be sent to his homeland. He has not been charged in connection with the embassy blasts. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |