Shaker al-Abssi, leader of Fatah al-IslamFatah al-Islam, a Sunni extremist organization with ties to Al Qaeda, is being blamed for this bombing. This is probably a result of the Shia Hezbollah's greater influence in Lebanon and, to use a term that should be revived in the American vernacular, jives with the June 2008 statement made by Shaker al-Abssi, leader of Fatah al-Islam, criticizing Shiites in Lebanon and claiming that the U.S. supports Shiites in Iran and Iraq. Can you feel the love? Here is an excerpt from The Washington Post:
A car bomb exploded near a military bus in the northern city of Tripoli on Monday, killing five people, including four soldiers, and injuring more than 30.
The bombing revived worries about the presence of militant Islamist groups in the city, where government forces last year battled a group with alleged links to al-Qaeda.
Monday's attack, the second to target the army in Tripoli in less than six weeks, took place during the morning rush hour on a road leading to several schools. Security officials said the bomb was placed in a private Renault sedan and was detonated by remote control.
The attack occurred two days after a bombing in Damascus, the Syrian capital, but Lebanese leaders discounted the possibility of a connection...
As in a similar bombing on Aug. 13 that left 14 dead, including nine soldiers, observers blamed Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist group that battled Lebanese forces for 15 weeks last year. The army eventually prevailed, but some members of the group were not apprehended.
For some more background:
Radical Group Pulls In Sunnis As Lebanon's Muslims Polarize
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