Reports: One Suicide Bomber behind Bir Hassan Attack Identified as Lebanese from Sidon
One of the two suicide attackers behind Tuesday's explosions in the Beirut neighborhood of Bir Hassan is Moein Abu Dahr from the southern city of Sidon, several media reports said on Friday.
“Moein Abu Dahr, who hails from Sidon, is one of the two suicide bombers who targeted the Iranian embassy in Bir Hassan,” LBCI television said on Friday afternoon.
LBCI added that he was close to Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir.
Al-Asir had warned of "revenge" three days before the Bir Hassan blasts.
Al-Jadeed television revealed that the alleged attacker's father, Adnan Abu Dahr, willingly went to the defense ministry after recognizing his son's picture.
“The father is being interrogated at the caretaker ministry of defense,” it added.
The same source also said that Moein Abu Dahr used to live in Kuwait before moving to Syria.
“He then returned to Lebanon to carry out the operation,” it said.
The Army Command clarified these reports in a communique on Friday evening: “As a result of circulating the picture of one of the most dangerous fugitives yesterday (Thursday), Adnan Abu Dahr informed the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau that it belongs to his son Moein.”
The military institution's statement added: “Samples have been taken from the father to do DNA testing and try to compare them with the bodies found at the scene of the explosion, under the supervision of the competent court.”
MTV said Moein Abu Dahr called his father 10 days ago asking for his forgiveness and since then, Adnan Abu Dahr hasn't heard from him.
LBCI remarked that the son called his father from Syria.
MTV quoted one of his relatives as saying he was in Sweden, before returning to Lebanon.
Meanwhile, OTV said both suicide bombers behind Tuesday's deadly blasts are Lebanese, after earlier reports had pointed out that they were Arabs.
“The attackers fought in Syria against President Bashar Assad's regime and participated in the fighting in Pakistan,” it said.
“Abu Dahr used to go to Bilal bin Rabah mosque in Sidon and has left the country after the Abra clashes.”
Moein Abu Dahr had promised al-Asir on his page on the social networking website Facebook that he will take revenge.
"They let you down Sheikh, but we will retaliate,” he wrote.
And a day before the Bir Hassan bombings, Abu Dahr took to Facebook to say that heaven “has opened its doors to receive him.”
In a related matter, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant posted a picture of Abu Dahr on Twitter, commenting that he's “the suicide bomber that attacked the Iranian embassy,” without mentioning Beirut in the caption.
Later on Friday evening, the Abu Dahr family “strongly” condemned in a released statement the deadly explosions nearby Beirut.
"We are deeply saddened that one of our relatives is accused of being behind the Bir Hassan explosions,” the statement posted on several Sidon-based websites said.
“We condemn this awful crime and we do not have enough words to describe it.”
It continued: “Abu Dahr is a conservative family that was raised according to the teachings of Islam that prohibit hurting others, and call for mercy and love.”
"We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and we pray for the recovery of the wounded.”
Since the news about the possible involvement of Abu Dahr in the Bir Hassan bombings broke out, security forces have cordoned off the area nearby his family's house in Sidon and have deployed heavily in the region.
They also erected checkpoints in the southern city, the state-run National News Agency reported.
An Agence France Presse journalist in Sidon said several journalists arrived to the port city, and one was beaten by supporters of al-Asir.
Fake identity cards used by the suicide attackers behind the blasts in Beirut's Bir Hassan neighborhood were made public on Thursday.
At least 23 people were killed and more than 145 others were wounded in a twin blast that took place on Tuesday morning near the Iranian Embassy in the neighborhood of Bir Hassan in Beirut's southern suburbs.
A security official said the first suicide attacker was on a motorcycle that carried two kilograms of explosives. He blew himself up at the large black main gate of the Iranian mission, damaging the three-story facility.
Less than two minutes later, the second suicide attacker driving a car rigged with 50 kilograms of explosives struck about 10 meters away, the official said.
The al-Qaida-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the bombings, according to the Twitter page of a cleric linked to the group.
"The Abdullah Azzam brigades - the Hussein bin Ali cells - are behind the attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut," Sheikh Sirajeddine Zuraiqat, the group's religious guide, posted on Twitter.
Zuraiqat called the operation “an invasion of the Iranian embassy in Beirut,” explaining that it is a “double martyrdom operation of two Sunni Lebanese heroes.”
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