The Lebanese army apprehended a suspect in the shooting that targeted the entrance of the US Embassy in suburban Awkar, north of Beirut, on September 20.
A video dated September 21 was leaked on Monday to kataeb.org, the website of the Kataeb party, showing troops surrounding a handcuffed man lying on the pavement.
According to official information, the suspect was arrested while fleeing in the woods near the embassy compound.
The attack last Wednesday seems to have been well planned. According to initial reports, unidentified gunmen in a 4×4 without number plates fired shots at the entrance of the embassy, at the same time as an individual hiding in the woods opposite the chancellery building.
Surveillance cameras showed that the gunman was clad in black attire, while two empty bullet cases were found at the entrance of a building across from the place where the firing took place, in an obvious attempt to mislead the investigation.
Embassy spokesman Jake Nelson, who confirmed the shooting, said, “there were no casualties, our premises are safe and contact is being maintained with the authorities responsible for law enforcement in the host country.”
According to the information on kataeb.org, the suspected 4X4 is a Nissan Pathfinder that carried no license plates and the bullets were fired from an automatic Kalashnikov rifle.
The US State Department was quoted by al Hurra TV as saying, “work at our embassy in Beirut continues as normal, after coming under fire on Wednesday evening.”
