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| Militant Tied to Bombings in Lebanon Dies in Jail | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — The leader of a Lebanon-based affiliate of Al Qaeda who was arrested recently died Saturday while in custody in Lebanon, officials said. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — The leader of a Lebanon-based affiliate of Al Qaeda who was arrested recently died Saturday while in custody in Lebanon, officials said. |
| The officials also said that the man suspected of carrying out a suicide attack in Beirut last week was a Lebanese citizen whose cousin had fought alongside the rebels in the civil war in neighboring Syria. | The officials also said that the man suspected of carrying out a suicide attack in Beirut last week was a Lebanese citizen whose cousin had fought alongside the rebels in the civil war in neighboring Syria. |
| Recent car bomb attacks in civilian areas have raised fears that Lebanon is slipping toward the same sectarian-fueled strife that is driving Syria’s civil war. | Recent car bomb attacks in civilian areas have raised fears that Lebanon is slipping toward the same sectarian-fueled strife that is driving Syria’s civil war. |
| The two countries share an intricate network of religious and political ties that have been inflamed by the Syrian conflict. | The two countries share an intricate network of religious and political ties that have been inflamed by the Syrian conflict. |
| Hezbollah, the Shiite military group and political party, has stood by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, sending fighters to support his army. And many of Lebanon’s Sunnis sympathize with the Sunni-led rebels in Syria. Some have sent weapons to the rebels or have crossed the border to join them. The bombings in Lebanon have raised the specter of attacks here by militants linked to Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is a Sunni organization that denounces Shiite Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah as heretics. | Hezbollah, the Shiite military group and political party, has stood by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, sending fighters to support his army. And many of Lebanon’s Sunnis sympathize with the Sunni-led rebels in Syria. Some have sent weapons to the rebels or have crossed the border to join them. The bombings in Lebanon have raised the specter of attacks here by militants linked to Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is a Sunni organization that denounces Shiite Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah as heretics. |
| Lebanon’s army said Saturday that the detained militant, Majid bin Muhammad al-Majid, a Saudi who led a Qaeda affiliate based in Lebanon, known as the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, died of kidney failure in a military hospital. His arrest was announced last week. | Lebanon’s army said Saturday that the detained militant, Majid bin Muhammad al-Majid, a Saudi who led a Qaeda affiliate based in Lebanon, known as the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, died of kidney failure in a military hospital. His arrest was announced last week. |
| Mr. Majid’s group claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut in November that killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens. | Mr. Majid’s group claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut in November that killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens. |
| A security official said that Mr. Majid, an international fugitive, had entered Lebanon two weeks before his arrest under a false identity to receive medical treatment for a kidney ailment. He was arrested outside Beirut and taken to a military hospital, where his condition made it hard for the authorities to interrogate him. | A security official said that Mr. Majid, an international fugitive, had entered Lebanon two weeks before his arrest under a false identity to receive medical treatment for a kidney ailment. He was arrested outside Beirut and taken to a military hospital, where his condition made it hard for the authorities to interrogate him. |
| Also on Saturday, Lebanese officials said they believed that a suicide bomber who blew up his car last week in a neighborhood where Hezbollah holds sway was a 19-year-old Lebanese citizen from an area near the border with Syria. | Also on Saturday, Lebanese officials said they believed that a suicide bomber who blew up his car last week in a neighborhood where Hezbollah holds sway was a 19-year-old Lebanese citizen from an area near the border with Syria. |
| The security official said the identification card of the suspect, Qutaiba al-Satem, was found with seared edges in a building near the bomb site. Investigators believe that it was blown there by the blast, the official said. | The security official said the identification card of the suspect, Qutaiba al-Satem, was found with seared edges in a building near the bomb site. Investigators believe that it was blown there by the blast, the official said. |
| Mr. Satem’s father had reported that his son was missing a few days before the attack, and he told the authorities after the blast that he knew nothing about any relationship his son might have had with any terrorist groups, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. | Mr. Satem’s father had reported that his son was missing a few days before the attack, and he told the authorities after the blast that he knew nothing about any relationship his son might have had with any terrorist groups, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation. |
| The father added that Mr. Satem was close to one of his cousins, who had been fighting alongside the rebels in Syria, the official said. | The father added that Mr. Satem was close to one of his cousins, who had been fighting alongside the rebels in Syria, the official said. |
| A Syrian activist named Mohammed who lives near Mr. Satem’s hometown said Mr. Satem had traveled to rebel areas in Syria and that his brother, too, had joined the Syrian opposition. | A Syrian activist named Mohammed who lives near Mr. Satem’s hometown said Mr. Satem had traveled to rebel areas in Syria and that his brother, too, had joined the Syrian opposition. |
| On Saturday, a Twitter feed associated with a Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda claimed that the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, had carried out the bombing in a Beirut suburb as an act of revenge for Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria. | On Saturday, a Twitter feed associated with a Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda claimed that the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, had carried out the bombing in a Beirut suburb as an act of revenge for Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria. |
| The Twitter post did not mention Mr. Satem, but it threatened further attacks on Hezbollah targets, calling the bombing “a first, small payment from the heavy account that awaits those wicked criminals.” | The Twitter post did not mention Mr. Satem, but it threatened further attacks on Hezbollah targets, calling the bombing “a first, small payment from the heavy account that awaits those wicked criminals.” |
| The claim’s authenticity could not be immediately confirmed. | The claim’s authenticity could not be immediately confirmed. |