Fingerprints Obtained in Harb Murder Bid as Wait Continues for Complete Telecom Data

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji expressed hope on Saturday that the perpetrators behind the assassination attempt against opposition MP Butros Harb may be found, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

Informed sources revealed that fingerprints at the scene of the failed assassination attempt have been lifted, saying that they belong to the individual who sought to place an explosive device in elevator shaft of the building where the lawmaker’s office is located.

The fingerprints have been lifted off the toolkit that the criminal left behind when he was discovered by residents in the building while he was still setting the device.

The daily added that not all of the telecom data in the incident have been handed over to the security forces.

Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui had informed Harb on Saturday that he will hand over the complete data to the security forces in line with the rules set by the judicial authority.

He informed the MP that he will propose the matter at cabinet during its session at the Baabda Palace on Monday.

Security forces said the information was incomplete over the failure of delivering the security agencies what is known as the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

A high-ranking security authority stressed to the daily in remarks published on Sunday the need for the Telecommunications Ministry to hand over the complete data.

“This step should be complete before Monday otherwise the cabinet would be forced to take measures that would help rectify the situation,” it said.

Harb stressed on Saturday that he will delay briefing the public about the details on the assassination attempt against him.

He made his remarks after holding talks with Qahwaji on the investigations in the murder attempt on Saturday.

“The information obtained by the security agencies gives us hope that we’re on the right track to reveal the identities of the offenders,” the lawmaker said.

The March 14 opposition coalition has held the government responsible for the assassination bid on Harb for withholding the telecom data to uncover similar plots.

Harb escaped an assassination bid on Thursday after residents of a building in which his office is located in the Beirut district of Badaro discovered individuals trying to booby-trap the elevator.

A string of high-level assassinations struck Lebanon between 2004 and 2008, targeting political, media and security figures who vocally opposed the Syrian government, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri who was killed in a powerful car bomb blast in February 2005.