Lebanon grilling mastermind of Iran Embassy bombing

Lebanese intelligence officials are interrogating the Saudi leader of an al-Qaeda-linked militant group who masterminded an attack on Iran’s Embassy in Beirut last November.

Lebanese officials said the Saudi national identified as Majed bin Muhammad al-Majed is being questioned along with another unnamed compatriot.

Majed is believed to be the leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which operates throughout the Middle East and has links to al-Qaeda.

He is said to have been living in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.

The group has not yet confirmed the arrest of its leader.

Majed, a high-profile terrorist wanted by the United States and other countries, had earlier traveled to Syria to pledge allegiance to the notorious al-Nusra Front, which is fighting against the Syrian government.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the twin bombings that killed 25 people and wounded over 150 others outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut on November 19.

Iran Cultural Attaché to Beirut Hojjatoleslam Ebrahim Ansari and the wife of another Iranian diplomat were among those killed.

On December 3, Hezbollah Secretary-General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia is behind the bombings against the Iranian Embassy, adding that he has no doubt that the Saudi intelligence agency has close links with the Abdullah Azzam Brigades.

The group “is a bona fide group that has a Saudi emir and its leadership is directly linked to Saudi intelligence,” Nasrallah stated.

The Hezbollah leader also noted that the bombings were Saudi Arabia’s expression of anger against Tehran because of Riyadh’s defeat in Syria.