[Debate] In Syria, Lebanon's Most Wanted Sunni Terrorist Blows Himself Up

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://ti.me/I70ZZq>
In Syria, Lebanon’s Most Wanted Sunni Terrorist Blows Himself Up

Lebanese terror leader Abdel Ghani Jawhar detonated himself
accidentally in Syria, raising questions about the kind of company the
rebels are keeping
By ARYN BAKER | @arynebaker | April 23, 2012

By Aryn Baker and Rami Aysha/Beirut

When one of Lebanon’s most wanted terrorists kills himself while
planting a bomb it is cause for at least some sort of grim
celebration. But when the chief bomb-maker of the country’s most
notorious terror group self detonates while helping rebels fight in
Syria, it is cause for concern.

TIME has learned that Abdel Ghani Jawhar, one of the leaders of the
Sunni fundamentalist terror group Fatah al-Islam, died in the Syrian
city of Qsair on Friday night. The founding cleric of Fatah al Islam,
Sheikh Osama al Shihabi, confirmed Jawhar’s death to TIME with a quote
from the Koran: “‘We are for God and to him we return.’ We as
Mujahideen are used to being killed and if God wants to give those
killed dignity he gives them martyrdom. This is the path of
righteousness.”

(PHOTOS: Syria’s year of chaos.)

This is not the first time that Jawhar is thought to have been killed;
several previous death announcements have been retracted over the
years. News of his death has been relayed by multiple—and
unrelated—sources in both Syria and Lebanon. According to a fellow
fighter, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Ali, Jawhar had been
preparing an explosive device to be used against the Syrian army,
which had been attempting to enter the rebel-dominated town not far
from Homs. As Abu Ali narrated the tale over Skype, the sound of bombs
and explosions could be heard in the background. Jawhar’s bomb went
off prematurely, says Abu Ali. “He was killed directly. We wanted to
send his body back to Lebanon but we couldn’t because it was torn into
pieces.” Instead Jawhar’s fellow fighters were forced to bury what was
left of him in a neighboring garden because it was impossible to reach
the graveyard during heavy fighting.

According to Abu Ali and another fellow fighter, Jawhar arrived in
Qsair two weeks ago with a group of 30 Lebanese fighters. While many
were members of Fatah al-Islam, they were not traveling under the
terror group’s banner. Instead they called themselves mujahideen, holy
warriors seeking to help fellow Muslims under attack by the Syrian
regime. Jawhar, an explosives expert and a charismatic commander,
sought to train fellow fighters how make bombs. In the short time he
had been in Qsair, says Abu Ali, he was able to set up dozens of
improvised explosive devices destined for members of the Syrian
security forces. “His aim was to make a tour in all the districts of
Syria to teach the fighters on how to fight a guerrilla war.”

For his efforts, Abu Ali calls Jawhar a hero and a martyr. For Syrian
rebels seeking international assistance in their battle to force
Syrian President Bashar Assad out of office, it’s a public relations
headache. The Free Syrian Army, as well as other Syrian resistance
groups, has long sought to downplay regime accusations that the rebels
are aligned with Islamic fundamentalists and pro-al-Qaeda groups.
While Fatah al-Islam has denied any association with al-Qaeda, there
are links between the group and individual members. The implication
that an al-Qaeda affiliated group is helping Syrian rebels build bombs
and foment a guerrilla war could radically alter perceptions in the
West, bringing to a halt discussions of arming the rebels and
establishing a no-fly zone. “The death of Jawhar on Syrian soil
emphasizes the fears of the international community that if they gave
weapons to the Syrian rebels they will end up in the hands of radical
groups,” says Lebanese University professor and Fatah al-Islam expert
Talal Atrissi. “The Syrian opposition will be embarrassed from the
fact that such a man is fighting alongside the rebels.”

(READ: What can be done to oust Assad?)

The account of Jawhar’s border crossing has been confirmed by Lebanese
intelligence authorities who say that they had been alerted to his
movements but were unable to stop him. “He escaped as always,” sighs a
senior intelligence official who says that Jawhar had been nicknamed
“mercury” for his uncanny ability to evade arrest—at least 34 times,
by the official’s estimate.  Lebanese security sources say they too
have received information about Jawhar’s death, though they were
unable to establish any details. “If his death is confirmed then we
lost a big catch, he was a real treasure trove of information,” says
the official.

Jawhar is accused of masterminding multiple bomb attacks against U.N.
security forces in Lebanon as well as Lebanese security installations
that have killed scores and injured hundreds. According to the
official, he is a person of interest in some 200 unsolved cases of
murder, assassinations, attempted assassinations and explosive
attacks. He is also thought to have killed a Christian shopkeeper in
the northern city of Tripoli because he sold alcohol. “This is a major
loss for Lebanese security, for the information he is believed to have
about the terror groups operating in the region,” says Atrissi. And
while Jawhar’s death would be a major blow for the group, which had
already been decimated by a slew of high profile arrests and the
deaths of several leaders in succession, “it doesn’t mean that the
region will become a safer place,” says Atrissi. “Each member of such
groups is a potential Abdel Ghani Jawhar.”

A 30-year-old biochemist from northern Lebanon, Jawhar came of age
during the country’s brutal civil war.  First he joined the Muslim
Brotherhood, but left over doctrinal disputes—he felt that the group
was not strict enough in its interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.
He then joined, and left, the extremely conservative Salafis for the
same reasons, and finally became a member of Fatah al-Islam in 2008.
He was promoted to leader after his predecessor was killed in a 2010
shootout with Lebanese security forces. According to the Lebanese
intelligence official, he was a master recruiter, and even managed to
induct Lebanese soldiers to his cause. His terror efforts spanned
Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, where he is thought to be responsible for
several of the devastating explosions that killed international
troops.  “He was a network by himself,” says the official. “He had
relations all over the region; he was a ruthless killer.”

Jawhar is also implicated in the murders of a Lebanese general, a
major in Intelligence and a Member of Parliament. He nearly succeeded
in killing the head of the Lebanese army as well as the head of
Internal Security. His death in Syria, says the official, may be seen
as a welcome comeuppance in some quarters, “but for us, it’s
devastating. It’s an issue of personal revenge between Jawhar and the
Intelligence service.” It also raises concerns over the insurgency
struggling across the border in Syria.

Aryn Baker is TIME’s Middle East Bureau Chief, based in Beirut. Find
her on Twitter at @arynebaker. You can also continue the discussion on
TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIMEWorld.
-- 
Yoshie Furuhashi
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