Iran, Syria probe Mughniyeh killing

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria and Iran will conduct a joint investigation into the car bombing that killed Imad Mughniyeh, a commander of their Lebanese ally Hezbollah, Iran's state news agency reported Friday.

Mughniyeh, the suspected mastermind of 1980s attacks on the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon that killed hundreds of Americans, died Tuesday night in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Iran and Hezbollah blamed Israel but the Israelis denied involvement. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed in a eulogy to the slain militant on Thursday that his Shiite guerrilla group would retaliate against Israeli targets anywhere in the world.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/syria_iran_militant;

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UN concerned at targeted assassinations
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Feb 14, 11:21 PM ET



UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council expressed great concern at targeted assassinations in Lebanon and elsewhere on Thursday, the anniversary of the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister and the day of the funeral of an assassinated Hezbollah leader.

The council did not agree on a press statement drafted by France and the United States which would have reaffirmed its "strongest condemnation" of the Feb. 14, 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri and 22 others and condemned "all targeted assassinations" of Lebanese officials since October 2004.

But the current council president, Panama's U.N. Ambassador Ricardo Arias, told reporters the members asked him to report their "great concern of any targeted assassinations that have been committed in Lebanon or in any other place."

Arias said the council also asked him to report "its great concern for the institutional stability in Lebanon, the importance for the Lebanese people to reach an agreement and understanding on the differences."

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080215/ap_on_re_ca/un_lebanon

[BobbyVan]

1. Finally an investigation I can trust.

[AngryAmish]

2. Why would Iran do this?

I thought Hezbollah as a Lebanese outfit.

[Behind the Aegis]

3. Report: Suspects arrested in Mugniyah assassination

Lebanese security source says Syrian security forces have detained several Palestinians residing in Syria on suspicion of being involved in Hizbullah commander's death in car bomb Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister meets with Hamas, Islamic Jihad leaders in Damascus

Syrian security forces have arrested several suspects in the assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mugniyah in Damascus on Tuesday night, a Lebanese security source reported Friday.

According to the report, the suspects arrested were mostly Palestinians residing in Syria. The source did not say how many people were detained.

The Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, affiliated with the Hizbullah organization, reported Friday that the investigation conducted by Syrian security services into the assassination of the arch-terrorist was in advanced stages.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3507243,00.html

[maddezmom]

4. Syria denies joint Iran investigation

DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria denied Iranian claims that the two countries would conduct a joint investigation into the assassination of a top Hezbollah commander, the Syrian state news agency reported.

Imad Mughniyeh, who was one of the world's most wanted fugitives, was killed in a car bomb in the Syrian capital Tuesday night. He was accused of masterminding attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Sheik Attar announced the joint probe on Friday, according to Iran's official news agency.

But a Syrian official dismissed the report as "totally baseless" and said Damascus would conduct the investigation alone, Syria's state-run news agency reported late Friday. It did not name the official.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/syria_iran_militant;_ylt=Ap_UGRYScCfQCKicq3YAERsLewgF