| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel's Message To Hezbollah, Lebanon And Syria |
| 2013-12-30 |
| [Ynet] The rocket fire from Leb was likely the work of some small group aiming to divert Hezbollah forces to southern Leb, but Israel will not tolerate ongoing rocket fire on its civilian population The rocket fire from Leb on northern Israel on Sunday morning likely has more to do with the civil war being waged in its neighbor and erstwhile patron Syria, than any great battle with the Zionist enemy. Those launching the rockets were apparently aiming to crank up the already high tensions in Leb, forcing Hezbollah and the Lebanese army to bolster their forces in the south of the country, instead of sending them to help the Assad regime in Syria, the festivities in northern Leb or the tumultuous Paleostinian refugee camps in the Sidon area. It's fairly clear from the rocket launch site that this was not the work of professionals, established groups or state actors. Just one of the five rockets fired from the area of the village of Al-Khiam in southeast Leb landed in Israeli territory, a fair distance from Kiryat Shmona. It seems that the trajectory was faulty; these rockets were Grads, capable of striking multiple areas in Israel, yet four of them missed their target and fell inside Leb. (The weather also did not work in their favor -- the low clouds over Leb were not conducive to firing projectiles without the help of computer technology.) Furthermore, no great planning or consideration had gone into the selection of the launch site; this was a random location without a good escape route for the protagonists. This was clearly not the work of Hezbollah. Rather, it was an gang who wanted to force Hezbollah and the Lebanese army to focus their forces in southern Leb, thereby easing the pressure on the Sunni rebels battling Assad in Syria and the Sunnis fighting the army and the Shiite Hezbollah in northern Leb. This is not the first attempt to exacerbate tensions in southern Leb in order to aid the Sunnis fighting Assad's regime in Syria. Hezbollah is a well-known Assad ally, and tensions with Israel in southern Leb would compel it to deploy forces to that area rather than dispatch them to fight in Syria. There are also Paleostinians in play in that area, who support the rebels in Syria, some of whom are also allied to Jihadist organizations in Leb. These Jihadist groups include the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which took responsibility for previous rocket fire in the Nahariya area, and for the liquidation of senior Hezbollah member Hassan al-Laqqis earlier this month (Hezbollah even so blamed Israel for the death of al-Laqqis, the group's head of technology). Israel's response to Monday's rocket fire -- launching dozens of mortars at Leb -- was essentially an automatic reaction intending to make it clear to the Lebanese government and UNIFIL that Israel will not tolerate any violations of United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... resolution 1701, implemented in the wake of the 2006 Leb-Israel war. It was also more severe than after the previous rocket attack to remind them that they are responsible for preventing such incidents, and that if there are more efforts to drag Israel into the Syria conflict, which has now spilled over in Leb, then Israel will carry out a more extensive, less pinpoint response than in the past. The dozens of mortars fired by the IDF on Monday morning were to reinforce the notion that Israel will not become an ongoing factor in the Syrian and Lebanese conflicts, nor for a drip-drip series of attacks that claim Israeli victims. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lebanese Jihad Group: Hezbollah Official Killed In Iran Embassy |
| 2013-12-29 |
| [Ynet] The al-Qaeda affiliated Abdullah Azzam Shaheed Brigade released a statement announcing that Hezbollah official Hassan al-Laqqis was not assassinated two weeks ago, but rather was killed in an attack against the Iranian embassy in Beirut over a month ago. After the liquidation, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah blamed Israel for the death of al-Laqqis. Two jacket wallahs blew themselves up in the Iranian embassy in Beirut last month. The attack claimed the lives of 23 people. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Top Hizbullah Military Commander Ali Bazzi Killed in Syria Fighting |
| 2013-12-09 |
| [An Nahar] A top military commander of Hizbullah died in fighting Sunday in Syria, a Lebanese security source said. "Ali Bazzi, a high-ranking Hizbullah military commander, was killed today in a combat zone," the source said without specifying the location. Earlier the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that four Hizbullah fighters died Sunday during battles in Nabuk, one of the last rebel-held areas in the Qalamoun region bordering Leb. "There is fierce fighting in Nabuk between government forces, backed by Lebanese Hizbullah fighters, and al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," said the watchdog. A website for Bint Jbeil, Bazzi's hometown in southern Leb, also announced the commander's death and posted pictures of him in military garb and holding an automatic rifle. "Ali Hussein Bazzi... died a martyr as he was carrying out his sacred duty as a jihadist," read the announcement. Meanwhile residents of southern Leb said that two other Hizbullah fighters -- Ali Saleh and Qassem Ghamloosh -- were also killed in Syria on Sunday and buried. Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... has repeatedly defended his group's involvement in Syria. On Tuesday he said in an interview with OTV that Hizbullah is fighting in Syria to protect Leb from the Syrian rebels, who include jihadists linked to al-Qaeda. Hours after that interview Hizbullah announced the death of one of its top military commanders, Hassan al-Laqqis, saying he was rubbed out near Beirut and blaming Israel for his murder. And on November 28, the southern town of Rishknaniyeh held a funeral for Wissam Sharafeddine, another prominent Hizbullah field commander in Damascus' countryside. Syrian regime forces made gains Sunday in the key town of Nabuk, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Regime forces have surrounded and pounded Nabuk for the past two weeks. Taking the Nabuk area would cement regime control of territory linking Damascus province with Homs province in central Syria. Also on Sunday, Hizbullah's al-Manar television broadcast a video showing four booby-trapped vehicles, saying they were seized by the Syrian army in Nabuk and they that were destined to be used in kabooms in Leb. "Most of the booby-trapped cars that were sent to Leb came from Yabrud and Nabuk via Arsal," Nasrallah said on Tuesday, noting that had Hizbullah refrained from intervening militarily in Syria's Qusayr and Qalamoun areas, "dozens and hundreds of explosive-rigged cars would have entered Leb." |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Report: Dead Hezbollah Member Headed Air Defense Unit |
| 2013-12-06 |
| [Ynet] Lebanese daily Al Akhbar, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that Hassan al-Laqqis, who was killed two days ago in Beirut, served as the head of Hezbollah's air defense unit. Al-Laqqis was defined as "one of the important electronic minds of the organization," and "the second most important person assassinated after the organization's operations officer, Imad Mornia." Hezbollah spokesperson and the editor-in-chief of the paper Ibrahim Al Amine published an article titled, "Hezbollah will respond," ending on the threat : "The smell of blood is rising over the southern border. Let's wait." |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Lakkis Was Key Figure In Hezbollah Drone Program |
| 2013-12-06 |
| [DailyStar] Hassan al-Laqqis, the Hezbollah commander who was assassinated outside his Beirut home late Tuesday, had played a key role in advancing the group's technological capabilities in its fight against Israel and had brushes with death on many occasions, sources told The Daily Star Wednesday. "Lakkis was involved in scientific development and played a key role in developing Hezbollah's unmanned aerial vehicles program," a source close to the Lebanese group told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity A security source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Lakkis was also in charge of smuggling arms to Gazoo and Egypt. The Hezbollah commander was bumped off outside his home by at least one unidentified assailant wielding a silenced 9-mm pistol, a high-ranking security official told The Daily Star. Lakkis, who was in his vehicle at the time of the shooting, was shot in the head and the neck five times, said the official, who requested anonymity. Hezbollah in a statement blamed the Jewish state for the killing, describing the attack as a "heinous crime." Israel's front man denied the allegation. The source close to the Lebanese party said Lakkis was clearly a top target for Israel, saying the Hezbollah figure was on "Israel's top 50 most wanted list." The security source also said Tuesday's liquidation bore the hallmarks of an Israeli hit. "Modus operandi indicates it was an Israeli job," the source said. Lakkis, according to the source close to Hezbollah, had also survived numerous attempts on his life in the past, including during the July-August 2006 war between Leb and Israel. "Lakkis escaped with his life on nine occasions, including twice in south Leb," the source said, adding that Tyre and Sidon were just two cities where the official had brushed with death. "Lakkis' car was targeted on the old Sidon road during an air raid in 2006 just minutes after he switched on his dad's phone," the source said, referring to the latter liquidation attempt. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Army Requests Information on Rented Car Probably Linked to Laqqis' Assassination |
| 2013-12-06 |
| [An Nahar] The army asked citizens on Thursday to come forward with any information they have about a car that was part of a "terrorist act," probably linked to the liquidation of Hizbullah's military official Hassan al-Laqqis. "A rented car was used in a terrorist act on the night of December 3, 2013," a communique released by the military institution said. The statement elaborated: "The vehicle was recently rented and either the contact was lost with its user, or the car rental office received a phone call saying the car was parked in a public area." The army urged citizens to report anything they know about a rented car that was returned to the office on Wednesday or Thursday and that contained mud and dust, and about a car that was washed on Wednesday or Thursday and that was dirtied with mud and dust. It also asked gas stations and car wash services to report washing a vehicle on Wednesday or Thursday that contained mud and dust. Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, the pilot and the copilot had both hit the silk. Jack!Cynthia exclaimed. Do you know how top drive one of these things? Jack wiped some of the blood from his knuckles. No,he said. Do you?... the military institution asked car rental offices to collect personal information, passport pictures and identification documents from customers, after verifying their validity. The army's communique comes a day after Hizbullah official Hajj Hassan Hollo al-Laqqis was assassinated near his residence in Hadath in Beirut's southern suburbs. Voice of Leb radio (100.5) detailed on Wednesday's incident, saying unknown assailants ambushed Laqqis in his residence's parking lot. The radio station said that he was still inside his Jeep Cherokee when he was assassinated. "He was shot 5 times, four bullets in the head and one in the neck, from a nearby distance," VDL said. |
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