Hariri's Security Dragnet Air-Tightened as 4 Car-Bombs Roam Lebanon

Saad Hariri has tightened the security dragnet around the family's Koreitem mansion as police forces searched nationwide for 4 car bombs reportedly marauding in Lebanon since the July 12 attempt to assassinate Defense Minister Elias Murr. Hariri's announcement coincided with a story on An Nahar's front-page Friday that security forces fanned en masse in Beirut and some of its inlets overnight amid "reports of an ongoing search for a suspicious car." "In light of a comprehensive assessment of security risks, and within the context of protective moves, a set of new precautionary measures have been introduced around the premises of the Hariri family's residence in Koreitem," said a statement released by Saad Hariri's media center. Saad made an apology to the public for the inconvenience caused by the airtight new measures, which have reportedly closed all immediate approaches of the mansion to traffic. Sources close to Hariri's personal security apparatus said there had been a deluge of telephone tips of car-bombs parked closed to the Koreitem mansion that all proved to be a hoax. "It looked like certain people were purposely parking 'clean' cars at the Koreitem premises and then get on the telephone and warn of a car-bomb at the precise location. No explosives were found on any of the cars," one source said. Lebanon has been gripped by an assassination scare since Marwan Hamadeh miraculously escaped a car bomb remote-controlled explosion near his house Oct. 2 and the subsequent assassination of ex-Premier Hariri by a one-ton bomb that shredded his motorcade Feb. 14. Former Economy Minister Bassel Fleihan died with Hariri along with 20 other people, including six bodyguards. An Nahar's anti-Syria columnist Samir Kassir was then assassinated by a car-bomb June 2, which was followed by the assassination of Communist Ideologue George Hawi June 21. Like Hamadeh, Elias Murr miraculously escaped a car-bomb assassination attempt in the Naccache neighborhood southeast of Beirut July 12. He is still recuperating from injuries he suffered in the attack. Murr's car-bomb has reportedly been traced by police to Tripoli, where it was sold at the city's harbor with 4 similar Mistubishi-Pajeros to a person using a blank power of attorney document. The report Thursday of the 4 marauding potential car-bomb sisters has fueled fears of more assassinations in store for Lebanon.