Jubran Tweiny, a Lebanese lawmaker and the head of Al Nahar Newspaper, was assassinated on Monday morning, in an explosion which ripped Al Mukhallis area, in industrial suburb northeast of Beirut; for other Lebanese was killed in the blast.
The Lebanese Police reported that a wired vehicle exploded at 9am Lebanese time, on the main road between Beit Mirry, east of Beirut.
The Qatar based Al Jazeera TV reported on its webpage that at least 10 cars were destroyed, some tossed into a valley in the hilly al-Mukhallis area when a car bomb exploded as Tweiny convoy passed through the area on Monday.
Aljazeera’s correspondent in Beirut reported that the Lebanese security forces had confirmed that the targeted car belonged to Tweini.
The blast took place in an eastern Christian suburb, which is only a few kilometers from the headquarters of the UN team investigating the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Al Hariri.
Also, Al Jazeera added that one of the killed is Nicola Fluti, the bodyguard of Tweiny.
Tweiny is known for his anti-Syrian positions, in recent months Lebanon has been rocked by a series of explosions targeting anti-Syrians. Media reports have linked the bombings to the investigation into Al Hariri’s assassination as an attempt to derail the inquiry.
Monday blast took place hours after chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis submitted his report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the investigation of the assassination of Al Hariri.
Druze Member of Parliament in Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt, told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation that “that assassination is a new terrorism message”, and added that Al Nahar Newspaper, which Tweiny headed will remain the beacon of freedom.
It is worth mentioning that Tweiny had said in August that he was on top of an assassination list and received several death threats.
According to Al Jazeera, Tweiny had spent much of the time outside of Lebanon citing security fear; he was believed to have returned to Beirut late on Sunday.
Lebanon has been rocked by a series of explosions targeting anti-Syrians in recent months. Media reports have linked the bombings to the investigation into al-Hariri’s assassination as an attempt to derail the inquiry.
In an earlier report in October, Mehlis implicated Syrian and allied Lebanese officials in the February truck bombing that killed al-Hariri and 20 others in Beirut.
