Muslim Cleric Freed after Detention over Ksara Bombing

Security agencies on Monday released Muslim cleric Sheikh Bassam Tarras from detention, four days after he was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the bomb attack that targeted the Zahle area of Ksara on August 31.

Tarras, a former member of the influential Muslim Scholars Committee, was interrogated on Sunday amid protests by the committee and other activists.

The MSC also issued a strongly worded statement against the General Directorate of General Security, demanding the cleric's “immediate release” and threatening judicial follow-up on the case.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper meanwhile revealed that Tarras, a former mufti of the Rashaya region, had confessed to “having ties to the detained cell and playing a key role in its formation.”

“He also confessed to recruiting the mastermind of the cell that carried out the terrorist attack and securing his communication with a terrorist called Abou al-Baraa,” the daily added.

Security sources had on Sunday told LBCI television that “investigations have proved that Sheikh Tarras was involved in the Ksara bombing.”

The bomb attack left an elderly woman dead and at least ten others wounded. The bomb that was placed at a busy roundabout was likely targeted against AMAL Movement convoys that were carrying supporters to a rally commemorating Imam Moussa al-Sadr in the southern city of Tyre.