Wednesday 23 December 2009

Lebanese Army Arrests Suspected Syrian Bus Shooter


23/12/2009 The Lebanese army has arrested the man suspected of opening fire on a Syrian bus in northern Lebanon this week and killing a 17-year-old laborer. The man had "confessed under interrogation that he had personal motivations" for Monday's attack, an army spokesman said.

Reports said that the man is called Shawqi al-Nazer and investigators were looking into his nationality and background. The suspect opened fire on the bus carrying Syrian laborers as it traveled near an army checkpoint in Deir Emar on the Tripoli-Akkar highway at dawn Monday.

The attack came a day after Prime Minister Saad Hariri ended a historical visit to Damascus, his first trip to Syria since the 2005 assassination of his father, ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Future daily quoted a security source as saying that the suspect had a financial dispute with the bus driver and both men were involved in trafficking goods across the Lebanese-Syrian border. The source said al-Nazer told investigators that he shot at the bus to take revenge from the driver who owed him money.

 Uprooted Palestinian

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