2007 Bikfaya bombings

Terrorist incident in Bikfaya, Lebanon April 2012 2007 Bikfaya bombings near Bikfaya, Lebanon Christian passengers of two civilian buses 2007 02 13 y Bombings 3 21 Fatah al-Islam The 2007 Bikfaya bombings were two blasts on buses near Bikfaya, Lebanon which killed three people and injured 21 others. The bombings heightened tensions in the country following the Cedar Revolution, and on the eve of the second anniversary of the assassination of Rafic Hariri. The bombings On Tuesday, 13 February 2007, a bomb exploded on a bus transporting 26 people from Bteghrine to the Lebanese mountain village of Ain Alaq. A second bus following behind stopped, and then a bomb on that bus exploded. Killed were Michel Attar (born 1989), Laurice Gemayel, and Mahmoud Hammoud, an Egyptian laborer. A further 21 other people were injured.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=79511 Routine commute turns deadly as bombers target civilians The Daily Star February 14, 2007 May 2, 2010 The two bombings occurred on the eve of a Cedar Revolution rally planned to commemorate the second anniversary of the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. The bombing occurred less than a mile from the Christian village of Bikfaya, the hometown of the former president, Amine Gemayel, whose son Pierre Gemayel, a cabinet minister and member of the anti-Syrian, March 14 Alliance, was assassinated by gunmen in November. https://www.theguardian.com/syria/story/0,,2012425,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12 The Guardian London Bus bombs in Lebanon kill three on eve of political rally February 14, 2007 May 2, 2010 Clancy Chassay Clancy Chassay Amin Gemayel, also a member of the March 14 Alliance, had just returned from the United States where he met with president George W. Bush in the White House on 8 February 2007. In addition to scaring the Lebanese from attending the Cedar Revolution the following day, many analysts also saw the bombings in Gemayel's stronghold of Metn as a Syrian warning to Gemayel who was a possible candidate for the Lebanese presidency. The bombings did not deter hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese, Christians, Muslims, and Druze, to gather in Martyr's Square in Beirut on February 14 to honor Hariri and show support for the anti-Syrian, pro-western government of Fouad Saniora.February 2014 Reactions Amnesty International condemned the bombings and accused the perpetrators of the attacks of "showing complete disregard for the most fundamental principles of humanity."http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=79547 Father of bus-bombing victim rejects 'martyr' label for son The Daily Star February 15, 2007 Egypt condemned the bombings. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-blasts-idUSL139283920070213 Ali Ghamloush Lebanon bus blasts kill 3 on eve of Hariri memorial Reuters February 13, 2007 February 13, 2014 France condemned the bombings. Germany condemned the bombings. The United Kingdom condemned the bombings. Indonesia condemned the killing, calling it an act of terror that would hinder political reconciliation among the Lebanese.People's Daily Online - Indonesia condemns Lebanon bombing Prime Minister Fouad Siniora promised to pursue the criminals who murdered Attar, Gemayel and Hammoud. He believed that the terrorists were the same forces who assassinated Hariri in 2005. He said that the Lebanese will not be "scared or terrorized" and the terrorists will be brought to justice.Siniora vows justice, links perpetrators to Hariri killing http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/DS140207_dsart24 February 14, 2007 February 16, 2007 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001306/http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/DS140207_dsart24 September 27, 2007 The leaders of the March 14 Alliance accused the Syrian government of committing the bombings in Ain Alaq to deter the Lebanese from participating in the rally honoring the second anniversary of Hariri's assassination. The state-controlled media in Syria accused the March 14 Alliance and the anti-Syrian parliament majority of being behind the two bombings.The Daily Star - Politics - Syria blames March 14 for bus bombings as families bury victimshttp://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=133118&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17 Qatar's top-selling English daily newspaper Gulf Times dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070216233934/http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2 February 16, 2007 On 15 February 2007, The U.N. condemned the two bombings, and the Security Council agreed to provide Lebanon with technical assistance to help probe the bombing that killed Michel Attar, Laurice Gemayel and Mahmoud Hammoud.February 2014 Arrests and criminal charges On 14 March 2007, Lebanese Internal Security, better known as the Sûreté Générale du Liban, arrested four Syrians who confessed to the bombings in Ain Alaq.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6448535.stm BBC News Arrests over Lebanon bus bombings March 14, 2007 May 2, 2010 The Lebanese Interior Minister, Hassan Al Sabaa, believed that the four Syrians were members of a radical Palestinian group, Fatah al-Islam, which allegedly has close ties to the Syrian intelligence agency. However, it was still not clear who actually ordered the attack. Syria denied the Lebanese allegations. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-un-probe-idUSN1547114320070215 U.N. Council okays probe into Lebanon bus bombings Reuters February 15, 2007 Evelyn Leopold May 29, 2012 On 21 June 2007, Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza filed charges16 Reputed Fatah al-Islam Members Face Criminal Charges Fatah al-Islam http://www.fatahislam.com/news/lebanese-prosecutor-21062007-charges.html June 21, 2007 June 22, 2007 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20070626072603/http://www.fatahislam.com/news/lebanese-prosecutor-21062007-charges.html June 26, 2007 against 16 Fatah al-Islam suspects accused of carrying out the bombings. Nine of the 16 suspects accused were in custody when the charges were filed; other, including Fatah al-Islam head Shaker al-Abssi were still being sought. The defendants include 10 Syrians, two Lebanese, three Palestinians (including one woman) and one Saudi national. See also 2005 Lebanon bombings References External links Fatah al-Islam background and information Lebanon Category:2007 murders in Lebanon Category:Bus bombings in Asia Category:February 2007 crimes in Asia Category:Improvised explosive device bombings in 2007 Category:Improvised explosive device bombings in Beirut Category:Islamic terrorism in Lebanon Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2007 Category:Matn District Category:Terrorist incidents in Lebanon in 2007 Category:21st-century mass murders in Lebanon Category:February 2007 in Lebanon