Beirut: Lebanon’s outlook for the summer looks grim given internal political schisms and the spillover effects of both the civil war in Syria as well as ongoing upheaval in Iraq. Indeed, wary and anxious citizens awaited another shoe to fall just as the summer tourism season kicked-off, on which a vast majority depended for economic survival. A sucide bomber detonated his explosives at Beirut’s Duroy Hotel during a security raid on Wednesday evening, in the third such bombing in a week.
According to initial reports the suicide bomber was a Saudi national and the state-run National News agency said the man was identified as 20-year-old Abdul Rahman Al Humaiqi. Interestingly, Interior Minister Nouhad Al Mashnouq confirmed that a second Saudi would-be suicide bomber was wounded in the blast but the man allegedly passed away Thursday morning.
One report claimed that the Raouche explosion was a murder, not a suicide, as it elaborated how the blast occurred as the door was opened. The official version maintained that six public security personnel, accompanied by a hotel employee, went up to the room and attempted to open a door that, according to this version, turned out to be rigged.
An unverified version that circulated online insisted that the raid occurred in the afternoon and that Hezbollah made it appear as if it was the work of a suicide-bomber before it executed the first culprit. According to the pro-Hezbollah daily Al Safir Gulf citizens would now be asked to apply for visas before they travel to Lebanon, although this was highly unlikely. For his part, the Saudi Ambassador speculated that the alleged terrorists killed were carrying forged passports. Officials revealed that the Security Directorate under the leadership of General Abbas Ebrahim — allegedly the Dahr Al Baydar bombing target — was tipped by a foreign intelligence source about the presence of these men at the Duroy Hotel, and opted to launch a preemptive strike.
In the past, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as well as the French Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), provided such assistance to their Lebanese counterparts though no concrete evidence emerged as to whether either tipped Ebrahim in this case. A shadowy group called “Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade” claimed responsibility for the Duroy bombing on its Twitter account as well, clarifying that “other jihadists” managed to flee the blast scene. “Our blessed operations will not be merciful on (Hezbollah), the Crusader army (meaning the Lebanese Army) and anyone targeting the free jihadists,” the group threatened. “The victory that is being achieved by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s army is a motivation for every jihadist in the world,” the Brigade added. Meanwhile, the military prosecutor, Judge Saqr Saqr, charged 15 suspected terrorists that belonged to the “Abdullah Azzam Brigades” and “Jund Al Sham” for plotting to carry out attacks in northern Lebanon. The suspects apparently received training in Syria’s Qalamun region to prepare explosives and booby-trapped cars.
