Syria hints at 'Israel's connection' in Lebanese general's killing

Syria condemned the killing of a senior Lebanese army officer in a blast in eastern Beirut on Wednesday and hinted that Israel may have been behind the attack, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.

Army Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj was killed in the rush hour blast in front of a municipal government building near the presidential palace in the Christian area of Baabda, a security official who requested anonymity said. "The Syrian government sends its deepest condolence to the Lebanese army, its command and the family of al-Hajj," SANA said. The agency quoted an official media source as saying Damascus condemned the killing, which "targets Lebanon's military establishment with its anti-Israeli beliefs."Israel and its allies in Lebanon stood to benefit from the crime through the killing of a national Lebanese figure, who held the Lebanese army's belief, supported the resistance (against Israel), worked for a united Lebanon and rejected its division, the source said.He noted that Syria held the Lebanese military establishment in high esteem and said the army had good relations with Lebanon's powers. SANA alleged that Israel had blown up al-Hajj's car in south of Lebanon in 1976 after he refused to cooperate with a pro-Israeli militia there. Israel also threatened al-Hajj during the war on Lebanon in 2006, the news agency claimed. More...