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Dubai: The assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was planned and executed by an Islamist group linked to Al Qaida, claimed a Lebanese daily yesterday. Al Akhbar newspaper said that leaked interrogation documents reveal that members of the 13-Group, which has strong links with Al Qaida, have admitted to the crime, but the documents were concealed from international investigator Serge Brammertz. Members of the group were arrested in September 2005, in relation to the investigation about Ahmad Abu Adas, who appeared in a video tape after the assassination and claimed responsibility. The members were interrogated by different sides, and results were hastily conveyed to the international investigation committee. Later on, all charges related to the assassination of Hariri were dropped.
The group, which was based in Syria, had Saudi, Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian members, was financed and trained by Al Qaida, according to the prosecution list presented at the Lebanese Military Court. The prosecution decision said the group had good relations with Abu Adas, who disappeared a month before the assassination and reappeared later in the video, which caused this group to be revealed by the Lebanese security bodies. The newspaper starts publishing the investigation documents from today.
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