Turkey Extradites Sidon Bombing Suspect to Lebanon
The Intelligence Branch of the Internal Security Forces on Tuesday received from Turkey via Beirut's airport a man wanted over the Sidon bombing that wounded a Hamas official on January 14.
The National News Agency identified the suspect as Mohammed Youssef al-Hajjar. According to al-Hayat newspaper, the man hails from the Iqlim al-Kharroub town of Shehim and was a Beirut resident.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri had personally contacted the Turkish leadership, urging it to facilitate the handing over of Hajjar, who fled to Turkey after the attack.
Hajjar has been described as one of the bombing's masterminds.
The other suspect, Mohammed Baytiyeh, reportedly fled to The Netherlands and contacts are underway between Beirut and Amsterdam to verify his presence in the European country.
The Intelligence Branch had quickly identified the potential suspects in the wake of the attack.
Hamas' Lebanon branch had named the wounded official as Mohammed Hamdan.
"The blast wounded his leg, destroyed his car and damaged the building. Preliminary evidence points to Zionist (involvement) behind this crime," Hamas said in a statement.
A military source told AFP that a BMW "detonated, wounding Hamas official Mohammed Hamdan," and the Lebanese Army said a "500-gram bomb" had been placed in his vehicle.
An AFP journalist in Sidon saw the burnt-out vehicle, a silver BMW, in a parking lot of an apartment building where Hamdan lived.
Hamdan did not appear to have a public or political role in Hamas, but a Palestinian security source told AFP that he was a member of the organization's security apparatus.
"Hamdan is an official in Hamas' security service. His work is linked to internal Palestinian affairs," the source said.
"Because of the nature of his work, the fingers are pointed to the Israeli enemy."
Hamas has fought three wars with Israel in the past decade and is based in Gaza, but it operates branches elsewhere in the Middle East including Lebanon.
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