On 14 February 2005
Rafic Hariri, the former
Prime Minister of Lebanon, was killed along with 21 others in an explosion in
Beirut. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of
TNT were detonated as his
motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel. Among the dead were several of Hariri's
bodyguards and his friend, and former Minister of the Economy,
Bassel Fleihan. Hariri was buried, along with the bodyguards who died in the bombing, in a location near
Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque. According to
CBC News,
The Wall Street Journal and Israeli daily
Ha'aretz, the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon, along with an independent investigation carried out by Captain
Wissam Hassan of the Lebanese
Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch, had found compelling evidence for the responsibility of Lebanese militia
Hezbollah in the assassination. In quick succession to the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon contacting Capt. Eid, in order to aid its investigation, Al-Hassan died in a car explosion in the
Achrafieh district on 19 October 2012. The latter had been the heart of Lebanon's security and stability, and was regarded as a key figure in keeping the investigation ongoing. In August 2010,
Hassan Nasrallah said Israel was looking for a way to assassinate Hariri as early as 1993 in order to create political chaos that would force Syria to withdraw from Lebanon, and to perpetuate an anti-Syrian atmosphere [in Lebanon] in the wake of the assassination. He went on to say that in 1996 Hezbollah apprehended an agent working for Israel by the name of Ahmed Nasrallah – no relation to Hassan Nasrallah – who allegedly contacted Hariri's security detail and told them that he had solid proof that Hezbollah was planning to take his life. Hariri then contacted Hezbollah and advised them of the situation.