Iman Chairman condemns Beirut car bomb attack
Sábado, 4 Enero 2014
Four people died and over 70 were injured in the attack
ISIS claims responsibility for Beirut car bomb
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
4 JANUARY, 2013
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and Syria claimed responsibility Saturday for this week's car bomb in Beirut's southern suburbs as families laid to rest two victims of the deadly blast.
"In light of the Islamic State's security effort, [we] were able to break the boundaries and infiltrate the security system of the party of Satan in Lebanon and attack it in the heart of its bastion, which is also known as it's security zone in Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday," a statement issued online by the Syrian rebel group said.
It added that the car bomb was “the first little [attack] out of a batch of heavy price those criminals will pay.”
The Lebanese Army confirmed the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber identified as Qotaiba Mohammad al-Satem from the northern region of Wadi Khaled in Akkar.
The military’s announcement came after forensic experts ran DNA tests on human remains found in the explosive-rigged Grand Cherokee, as well as on the victims and Satem's father.
The car bomb in the densely populated neighborhood of Haret Hreik, a Hezbollah stronghold, killed four people and wounded 77 others.
A security source told The Daily Star Friday that Satem had disappeared three months ago, and that he had been fighting in Syria with the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria rebel group.
The source said that Satem’s father regularly led prayers at a mosque in Wadi Khaled and that he was known for his extreme stances against the Syrian regime.
The source added that Satem was an engineering student at the Lebanese International University in Koura.
Families laid to rest two of the victims in separate neighborhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs including 17-year-old Ali Khadra.
At Adnan Awali's funeral procession, Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar criticized politicians who he said were justifying bombings in the capital's southern suburbs, saying: "There are members of Nusra Front and ISIS in Lebanon and these politicians insist on justifying the logic of terrorism while we oppose all kinds of bombings in Lebanon."
Ammar was referring to his rivals in the March 14 coalition and Future Movement who have said Hezbollah’s military involvement in Syria has led to the bombings.
The Jan. 2 attack occurred less than a week after former Minister Mohammad Shatah was killed in a car bomb in Downtown Beirut, along with seven people.
Condemning the attack, Iman Chairman, Ribal Al-Assad said:
"I am horrified to read of this most recent terrorist attack in Lebanon, yet more lives lost and ruined by extremists with no respect for humanity.
We must not allow this situation to continue, how many more people have to die before something more is done to confront extremism and sectarian violence? The international community must come together to fight extremism in all its forms.
The people behind these attacks must be brought to justice and those who incite such acts to be committed should be held fully accountable for the destruction and loss of life they cause.
My thoughts and prayers are will the victims and their families at this time."
