Assassination of Rafic Hariri

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.