Tripoli Bombings Suspects Charged as Eid Slams Intelligence Branch
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Monday seven people, three of whom are in custody, in connection with the August bombings of two mosques in the northern city of Tripoli.
The charges include the formation of an armed gang for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities and the bombing of al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques on August 23.
The three detainees were identified as Youssef Diab, Anas Hamzi and Hussein Jaafar.
The Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch arrested Diab on Friday. He has admitted to parking the booby-trapped car that exploded near al-Salam mosque.
Diab is from the Tripoli neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen, whose residents are Alawites and back Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Jaafar has facilitated the transfer of the car bombs from Syria, An Nahar daily reported Monday. It was not clear what Hamzi's role was in the bombings.
The ringleader of the network, Hayan Haidar, and three others are nowhere to be found, it said.
The driver of the second booby-trapped vehicle near al-Taqwa mosque was identified as Ahmed Merhi.
The ISF arrested Diab after it studied advanced cameras placed near the house of former ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi that lies near al-Salam mosque.
It also studied telecommunications data and heard the testimonies of informants that led to the arrests.
A security official told An Nahar the investigation revealed that the Syrian intelligence lied behind the bombings.
Arab Democratic Party Secretary-General Rifaat Eid, whose supporters are from Jabal Mohsen, warned that “if Diab was innocent, then the Intelligence Branch should be dissolved for taking the country towards strife.”
He also challenged the authorities by saying that the caretaker interior minister should dissolve his party if the judiciary proved that it was involved in the twin bombings.
Eid, who is a close ally of Assad, said during a press conference that his supporters would “resort to the street” if his rivals did not end their political campaign against him.
Eid was referring to al-Mustaqbal movement and its allies.
“Our battle should not be through the media. The issue of Jabal Mohsen should be taken to the judiciary,” he said.
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