Syria denies it is trying to assassinate Lebanon's Hariri

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Syria dismissed Wednesday as "false and fabricated" a claim by the leader of Lebanon's parliamentary majority that Damascus was plotting to assassinate him and the Lebanese Western-backed prime minister. Saad Hariri, the parliamentary majority leader, made the allegation Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt, where he said there was a Syrian plot to kill him and Prime Minister Fuad Saniora ahead of crucial presidential elections next month. Hariri, whose father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was killed in a massive Beirut 2005 truck bombing that was widely blamed on Syria, did not elaborate on the details of the plot or say how he knew of it. Rafik Hariri's assassination provoked an outcry that forced Syrian troops to leave Lebanon after a 29-year presence.