Diplomats Hint Syria’s Involvement in UNIFIL Bombing
Diplomatic sources have hinted about Syria's involvement in the roadside bomb that ripped through a U.N. convoy in southern Lebanon on Friday after threats by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem that the European Union would regret its sanctions against President Bashar Assad.
The sources told An Nahar and al-Joumhouria dailies on Saturday that the bombing came after Muallem threatened that “Syria will not remain silent” to the EU measures against Assad.
The Europeans "erred when they attacked the president and when they adopted sanctions that harm the Syrian people," he said earlier in the week.
The attack on the Italian contingent hints that the messages sent to Europe, which began with the kidnapping of the seven Estonian tourists in the Bekaa valley in March, are on the rise, the diplomatic sources said.
They did not rule out attempts by the Syrian regime to create “distractions elsewhere” if it sees that its existence is in danger.
The roadside bomb ripped through the convoy carrying Italian peacekeepers, wounding six of them in the first such attack since 2008.
The explosion struck as the peacekeepers' vehicles traveled south on the main highway in Sidon, leaving a crater in the road and scattered debris from the charred U.N. vehicles. A security source said the bomb contained around 10 kilograms of explosive material.
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