Syria Sticks to SANA Story on ‘Terrorist Groups’ in Shaaban Killing

Syria has informed Lebanese authorities that it holds onto its announcement that “terrorist groups” were responsible for the killing of a Lebanese cameraman in the northern area of Wadi Khaled.

An Nahar daily said Wednesday that coordination between Lebanon and Syria was underway through the joint security and military committee.

But the Damascus regime informed Lebanon that it holds onto its side of the story that was released by Syria’s state-run news agency SANA.

SANA said Monday that al-Jadeed TV team came under fire as

Syrian border guards opened fire in retaliation to an attack by "terrorist groups."

"During the presence of the al-Jadeed team, a border checkpoint came under heavy fire from armed terrorist groups... and the border guards retaliated," SANA said quoting an unnamed media source.

The TV station’s cameraman Ali Shaaban, 32, was killed while reporter Hussein Khreis and cameraman Abed Khayyat, who was lightly wounded in his arm, managed to escape after their car came under a volley of gunfire from the Syrian side of the border.

Shaaban was buried in his hometown of Maifadoun in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.