Shaker al-Abssi
Shaker al-Abssi (1955-2008?) (Arabic: شاكر العبسي) was a veteran Palestinian guerrilla and Fatah al-Islam's leader. On 10 December, 2008 Fatah al-Islam announced that al-Abssi was believed to have been killed or arrested in ambush by Syrian security forces.[1][2]
[edit] Biography
On June 21, 2007, al-Abssi and 15 other accused Fatah al-Islam members were formally charged[3] by Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza in a criminal case accusing them of carrying out the February 13, 2007 bus bombings in the mountain village of Ain-Alaq. Al-Abbsi and other defendants were also charged with bombing two civilian buses on the eve of a Cedar Revolution rally planned to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.
On September 2, 2007, al-Abssi was allegedly killed in the north of Tripoli. A body believed to be al-Abassi's has undergone DNA and blood tests, and the Lebanese army confirmed it to be his. A total of 39 Islamist militants were killed by Lebanese troops in a pre-dawn attempt to escape from the Palestinian refugee camp in which they had been besieged for three months by the Lebanese army.[4][5]
However, a DNA test carried out on the body did not confirm his death. The body discovered belonged to a man in his thirties, while Absi was fifty-six at the time. The DNA was also compared to samples from his brother and daughter and found not to match. [6]
In October 2008, al-Abssi was reported captured in Syria. [7] However, other reports had him still on the run. In November 2008, after a car bombing in Damascus, al-Abssi's daughter Wafa was shown on Syrian TV along with other purported Fatah al-Islam members.[8] On 10 December 2008 the group said Shaker al-Abssi and two other members had been ambushed by the Syrian security forces in the small town of Jermana, south of Damascus, and that he had been killed or arrested.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Fatah al-Islam leader believed dead. Al Jazeera English. Accessed 10 December, 2008.
- ^ The inside story of Fatah al Islam’s leader Shaker al-Absi | Ya Libnan | Lebanon News Live from Beirut
- ^ "16 Reputed Fatah al-Islam Members Face Criminal Charges". Fatah al-Islam. 2007-06-21. http://www.fatahislam.com/news/lebanese-prosecutor-21062007-charges.html. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
- ^ "Fatah al-Islam chief among siege dead". [1]. 2007-09-02. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22352333-5005961,00.html.
- ^ "Lebanese troops crush Islamists in siege camp". [2]. 2007-09-02. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iuG-euaqZY2LFCWhoBUjcagqj0ow.
- ^ DNA proves Fatah Islam leader not killed in northern Lebanon fighting - Israel News, Ynetnews
- ^ Al Qaeda mastermind said to be captured in Syria
- ^ "Babylon & Beyond". Los Angeles Times. 2008-11-07. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/11/syria-tv-confes.html. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ "Fatah al-Islam says leader 'dead'". BBC News. 2008-12-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7775239.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Shaker al-Abssi |
- The Mystery of Shaker Al Absi Asharq Al-Awsat January 15, 2008
- Shakir al-Abssi at the History Commons
- Shaker al-Abbsi from Fatah al-Islam leadership
