Tyre, Lebanon: Lebanon’s security forces have detained two relatives of the wife of a murdered Syrian official on suspicion they were involved in his killing, a security source said Saturday.
Mohammad Darrar Jamo, a strong supporter of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, was gunned down at his home by unknown attackers early on Wednesday in what initially was thought to be a political assassination.
Lebanon’s army however later ruled out a political assassination while a judicial source said “family reasons” were behind the killing.
The security source on Saturday confirmed that suspicion had fallen on members of the family of Jamo’s Lebanese wife, Siham Younus.
“Lebanon’s military intelligence is questioning Badie Younus, who is the brother of ... Siham, as well as her nephew Ali Khalil, over suspicion that they participated in the murder,” the source said.
Jamo, a Syrian who had lived in Lebanon for 25 years, was a pro-Al Assad political commentator who often appeared on Lebanese television.
Lebanese media said Jamo’s funeral was held Friday in Latakia, on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
Speaking to Lebanese television channel Al Jadeed, Jamo’s wife denied any connection to the killing.
“What’s going on?... He’s been my husband for 20 years,” Siham told the broadcaster.
She said she had been interrogated by the Lebanese security forces before travelling to Syria for her husband’s funeral.
Asked whether there was any chance her brother or nephew were behind the murder, she said: “Whoever the perpetrator is, he should be punished.”
Syrian state news agency Sana had initially blamed Jamo’s killing on “terrorists”, using the Damascus regime’s terms for rebels who are fighting Al Assad’s forces.
