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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Assad Supporter Killed by Gunmen in Southern Lebanon | Assad Supporter Killed by Gunmen in Southern Lebanon |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Unidentified men shot and killed a prominent Syrian commentator and staunch defender of the government of President Bashar al-Assad outside his home in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, local officials said. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Unidentified men shot and killed a prominent Syrian commentator and staunch defender of the government of President Bashar al-Assad outside his home in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, local officials said. |
| The predawn attack that killed the commentator, Mohamed Dirrar Jammo, comes one day after a roadside bomb struck a convoy near the Syrian border belonging to Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group, which has sent fighters to help Mr. Assad’s army battle rebels seeking his ouster. | |
| No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the strong links between their targets and the Syrian government suggest that Syrian rebels or Lebanese militants who sympathize with them are targeting Mr. Assad’s allies in Lebanon. | No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the strong links between their targets and the Syrian government suggest that Syrian rebels or Lebanese militants who sympathize with them are targeting Mr. Assad’s allies in Lebanon. |
| Syria and Lebanon share a complex web of political and sectarian links that are easily inflamed, and the civil war in Syria has led to a rise in political violence in Lebanon. Last week, a car bomb exploded in a southern suburb of Beirut that is a stronghold for Hezbollah. | |
| Hussein Khalifeh, the mayor of Sarafand, where Mr. Jammo was killed, called the attack a “political assassination par excellence.” He said Mr. Jammo had returned to his home in a residential part of the town early Wednesday and was unloading fruits and vegetables from his car when the gunmen showed up. | Hussein Khalifeh, the mayor of Sarafand, where Mr. Jammo was killed, called the attack a “political assassination par excellence.” He said Mr. Jammo had returned to his home in a residential part of the town early Wednesday and was unloading fruits and vegetables from his car when the gunmen showed up. |
| Mr. Jammo, who often defended the Syrian government on Lebanese and Arab television stations, was married to a Lebanese woman and had lived in the town for more than 10 years, Mr. Khalifeh said. | Mr. Jammo, who often defended the Syrian government on Lebanese and Arab television stations, was married to a Lebanese woman and had lived in the town for more than 10 years, Mr. Khalifeh said. |
| As the civil war in Syria heated up, local officials warned Mr. Jammo to be careful about his high profile defending Mr. Assad’s government. “But we never got any serious official warning,” Mr. Khalifeh said. | As the civil war in Syria heated up, local officials warned Mr. Jammo to be careful about his high profile defending Mr. Assad’s government. “But we never got any serious official warning,” Mr. Khalifeh said. |
| A Lebanese military official confirmed the bomb attack on Tuesday, saying it struck a Hezbollah convoy that was headed to the Syrian capital, Damascus. Speaking on the condition of anonymity under military rules, he said that two people were wounded and that this was the third similar attack since the beginning of June. |