Asir Says Ruwais Bomb 'Normal Result' of Hizbullah Intervention in Syria

Fugitive Islamist cleric Ahmed al-Asir on Monday noted that the deadly Ruwais bombing was “a normal result of the crimes committed by (Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah and his party against our brothers in Syria."

"Nasrallah used a provocative rhetoric to secure further hegemony over the Lebanese,” Asir said, referring to the speech delivered by Nasrallah in the wake of the blast.

"Several critics of Nasrallah, who had accused him of dragging Lebanon into an inferno, have swallowed their tongues due to their cowardice and fear," the cleric added in an audio message posted on the Internet, the third since he went into hiding after the deadly Abra battle.

He pointed out that “the Dahieh bombing is a normal result of the crimes committed by Nasrallah and his party and their supporters against our brothers in Syria -- in Qusayr, before the Qusayr battle and after the Qusayr battle."

Asir accused Nasrallah of seeking to "take advantage of the Dahieh blast" to "threaten all the Lebanese, especially the Sunni community."

He claimed that Syrian rebels did not fire "a single gunshot against Hizbullah or any of the Lebanese prior to the Qusayr battle."

"By accusing the Takfiris, Nasrallah is using a term that can be interpreted in several ways with the aim of subjugating all the Lebanese and justifying his crimes,” Asir added.

“You said through your deceptive rhetoric that whoever accuses Sunnis (of the Ruwais blast) is an Israeli agent. This rhetoric has fallen, as you are rejecting both the liberal al-Mustaqbal Movement and the religious Sunnis who stand against you,” he went on to say, addressing Hizbullah's leader.

Asir warned his "brothers" in Majdal Anjar, Tariq al-Jedideh, Tripoli, Akkar and Dinniyeh that Nasrallah "will use the intelligence agencies to fight you under the excuse of Takfiris."

"Enough with your lies ... our brothers (in Syria) are not idiots, the idiot is the one who has stood by the butcher in Syria and jusitifed the crimes of the criminal (Bashar) Assad," he added, addressing Nasrallah.

Security information revealed on Monday that some members of a car bombing ring detained on Sunday are supporters of Asir.

Eight people, of Lebanese and Palestinian nationalities, were found involved in the scheme to detonate a booby-trapped car that was found in the town of Naameh, south of Beirut, As Safir daily quoted well informed sources as saying on condition of anonymity.

All the people involved in the alleged scheme are under monitoring, and investigators have circulated their photos in a bid to tighten their movements, the source told the daily.

The Naameh plot was to be the first of a series of attacks, the source added.

Asir's supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint, late last month, leaving around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunmen dead.

The gunbattles concentrated in the area of Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque and nearby buildings in Abra.

On Thursday, 25 people were killed and around 300 others wounded in a powerful car bombing that rocked the Beirut southern suburb of Ruwais, a Hizbullah stronghold.