Army Denies Report on Assassination Threats against March 8 Officials

Lebanese and foreign security agencies obtained information that some Lebanese officials are a target of an assassinations plan and that the scheme includes figures from the March 8 alliance, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily reported on Thursday.

The alleged plan does not include political figures of the March 14 alliance this time, said the daily, but is limited to figures of March 8 and it includes Speaker Nabih Berri, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, former minister Wiam Wahhab and Maj. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed.

However, the army issued a statement later on Thursday, denying that the Intelligence Directorate had told any Lebanese minister about "any threats targeting Lebanese political figures."

The Speaker had commented earlier and described the list as “serious and dangerous,” said al-Anbaa.

Meanwhile al-Sayyed downplayed the issue and said that it is only a rumor circulating at the current period to merely promote confusion.

Unnamed political sources said that the Army Intelligence had previously asked minister Khalil to take cautious measures after detecting signs monitoring his movements.