Monday, May 6, 2013

Mutula lungs ‘had blood’

Tuesday
May 7,  2013

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By VINCENT AGOYA vagoya@ke.nationmedia.com AND BOB ODALO dodalo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Sunday, May 5  2013 at  23:30
In Summary
  • Fresh reports indicated that detectives investigating the case are exploring the presence of a mysterious visitor at Mr Kilonzo’s Maanzoni home when he died on April 27



Investigations into Senator Mutula Kilonzo’s death have ruled out a heart attack and have narrowed down to a likelihood of poisoning. A source close to the family and a doctor involved in the investigations said a postmortem found serious internal bleeding characteristic with poisoning.
“Massive internal bleeding and a finding that all his internal organs were intact is a pointer to the presence of a toxin,” a doctor who requested anonymity told the Nation.
Investigators now want to find out if Mr Kilonzo was killed by a toxic substance, and if so, whether it might be related to suicide, murder, accidental poisoning or even a snake bite.
According to the source, the first finding during postmortem was in the chest cavity where both lungs were found to be “soaked in blood”.
An examination of the body had revealed that both the arteries and the heart had not been ruptured as is normally the case when one suffers a heart attack, the source said.
Final findings
The postmortem examination was conducted by seven doctors, led by the chief government pathologist, Dr Johansen Oduor, at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi. British pathologist Calder Ian Maddison flew to Kenya at the family’s request and took part in the examination.
On Sunday, Dr Odour declined to comment on the latest developments, saying, the media should wait for the final findings.
“We agreed that we are not going to discuss our findings because it can create confusion. Just wait for the final results,” he said.
The new developments emerged as fresh reports indicated that detectives investigating the case are exploring the presence of a mysterious visitor at Mr Kilonzo’s Maanzoni home when he died on April 27. The visitor is said to have been questioned by detectives, but police have refused to comment on the matter and kept the identity of the visitor a closely-guarded secret.
On Sunday, forensic expert, Dr Geoffrey Mutuma, who at one time was Mr Kilonzo’s doctor, questioned the eight to 10 weeks period that pathologists say it will take to release the postmortem results.
Dr Mutuma said results should not take that long.
“It just prolongs the anxious moments that Kenyans are going to be subjected to,” he said.
From his experience as a pathologist, he said, he found it hard to understand why the forensic experts working on the body could want two months for something that can be done in 72 hours.
Last Tuesday, the seven doctors who took part in the postmortem said they had agreed on the preliminary findings and that results of further tests would be ready in eight to 10 weeks. They however, did not publicly release their preliminary findings.
On Saturday, fresh reports emerged that seemed to contradict earlier information that Mr Kilonzo was not seen alive after retiring to bed on the night of April 26.
According to the new reports, the Senator had woken up early and spent about 30 minutes in a swimming pool within his home. At that time, the unidentified visitor was in the house.
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Mystery fifth person in Mutula’s death probe

Tuesday
May 7,  2013

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The late Makueni senator Mutula Kilonzo. Investigators believe the guest could provide critical information on the last moments of the Senator whose death has puzzled the country. PHOTO/EMMA NZIOKA
The late Makueni senator Mutula Kilonzo. Investigators believe the guest could provide critical information on the last moments of the Senator whose death has puzzled the country. PHOTO/EMMA NZIOKA  NATION
By SUNDAY NATION TEAM newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, May 4  2013 at  20:05
In Summary
  • Multiple sources — who cannot be named because they are not allowed to speak on behalf of the family — say that the preliminary findings from the postmortem examination were unlikely to change significantly when the final report is prepared.
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Detectives investigating the death of Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo are exploring the presence of a mysterious visitor at his Maanzoni home when he died last Saturday.
The visitor is said to have been questioned by detectives but police have deepened the mystery because they have maintained silence on the details emerging from the investigation into the death of the maverick politician.
Investigators believe the guest could provide critical information on the last moments of the Senator whose death has puzzled the country.
Multiple sources — who cannot be named because they are not allowed to speak on behalf of the family — say that the preliminary findings from the postmortem examination were unlikely to change significantly when the final report is prepared.
And, going by the preliminary findings, police have no reason to detain any of those who were at Mr Kilonzo’s house, unless further investigations raise a different line of investigation.
Besides the mysterious visitor, police have questioned the farm manager, a cook, a supervisor and the housekeeper and recorded their statements.
An officer privy to the investigations told the Sunday Nation that the statements by some of Mr Kilonzo’s employees are not consistent. Two of the employees have written that there was a guest at the house while others did not mention the visitor.
Another officer said the postmortem examination findings did not leave any room for conjecture in establishing the cause of death, but it had been agreed that the decision to release the report should be left to the family.
The postmortem examination was conducted by seven doctors led by chief government pathologist, Dr Johansen Oduor at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi.
British pathologist Calder Ian Maddison flew to Kenya at the family’s request and took part in the examination.
Further reports have showed that an unlabelled bottle containing pills was among samples taken from Mr Kilonzo’s bedroom by detectives after the death was reported.
The Senator’s body was found tucked in bed with foam in the mouth. There were also indications that the lawyer had vomited and samples were collected for analysis.
Besides the pathologists, detectives have engaged experts at the Government Chemist to examine the pills and other samples.
Fresh reports emerged Saturday that seemed to contradict earlier information that Mr Kilonzo had not been seen alive on April 27, until he was discovered dead at around 11am.
According to the new reports, the Senator had woken up early and spent about 30 minutes at the swimming pool within the compound of his palatial home.
At that time, the visitor was in the house.
Police also reviewed video footage captured by CCTV cameras mounted around Mr Kilonzo’s home.
Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro said: “The doctors are holding the key to this investigation. You start with learning the cause of death from the doctors before you decide whether to pursue it further or end it. It could be different if it was a matter of an attack where injuries are visible.”
Contacted by the Sunday Nation, Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo said: “It’s too early to tell what happened because the investigators are looking back to several weeks before the incident. We are looking at layers and layers of investigation.”
After the postmortem examination, the pathologists said they were in agreement, adding that findings would be available after eight to 10 weeks. However, the doctors did not tell the media what they had agreed on.
On Thursday, Mrs Nduku Kilonzo, the Senator’s wife, told reporters at the family’s Gigiri home that the samples collected from her husband’s body and home would be tested locally because Kenya has the required facilities.
But when fielding questions at a press conference at Mr Kilonzo’s offices, the Senator’s son, Mr Mutula Kilonzo Junior, told reporters the samples would be tested abroad. That briefing was called to announce that Mr Kilonzo would be buried at Mbooni and not Maanzoni as earlier stated.
Another officer said the first batch of detectives who entered the bedroom after the death report was made said the scene had probably been disturbed. He added that Mr Kilonzo’s long time chef and housekeeper may help unravel the mystery on the possibility of there having been another person in the house.
“It is just part of our investigations ... we are not saying for sure that there was another person, but some things are not adding up,” said the officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Before pursuing the latest line of investigation, detectives had suspected other causes of death including heart attack, suicide, drug overdose, poisoning or an insect bite.
The chef, Mr John Mulei, is believed to have been close to the former minister.
“He was his confidant in some ways,” said a worker at the ranch, adding that they were under strict instructions not to speak to the press.
The Senator’s Valhala home has a state-of-the-art security system complete with CCTV cameras and the entrances are opened through lock combinations and are remote controlled.
The Sunday Nation spoke to yet another detective who said: “If there was a second person in the house, the person who opened the door in the morning to prepare breakfast must have seen something.”
Forensic expert, Dr Geoffrey Mutuma, who at one time was Mr Kilonzo’s doctor, says the issue of his bedroom not being locked raises more questions than answers.
“Indications are that there is a possibility of another person who accessed the room,” the doctor added.
“The question is; was it a habit for the Senator to spend the night in his room while living the bedroom door unlocked? Looking at the surrounding of his ranch as a forensic expert I find this disturbing,” said Dr Mutuma.
Sources say that workers who have spoken to investigators have said it was not strange for the senator to have visitors during his stay at the ranch on weekends and that some would spend the night.
 http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Mystery-fifth-person-in-Mutulas-death-probe/-/1056/1842402/-/item/1/-/sw845az/-/index.html
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Sunday, May 5, 2013

علي سالم الجميدي يعود للحياة بعد 46 عام من تشيع جثمانه بعد مقتله في حرب عام 1967م


علي سالم الجميدي يعود للحياة بعد 46 عام من تشيع جثمانه بعد مقتله في حرب عام 1967م
04-05-2013
القسم : صورة وتعليق
أثارت عودة مسن يتوقع بأنه ” علي سالم الجميدي ” العائد من سجون الاحتلال الاسرائيلية، جدلا واسعا في لواء البترا ومنطقة أم صيحون والديسه في العقبة وجوارها، خصوصا وأن العديد من أبناء المنطقة قد حضروا مراسم دفن جثته التي عادت مشوهة بعد مقتله في حرب عام 1967.
وغابت سيرة الرجل تماما، إلا أن عودة رجل مسن يوحي حديثه بأنه عائد من سجون اسرائيل، أعادت سيرة (علي سالم الجميدي) إلى حيز الوجود مجددا وسط جدل واسع ، بحسب مصادر اعلامية فلسطينية .
وانقسم أقارب الجميدي الذين شاهدوه في الرأي ، فبحسب قاسم الجميدي البدول وعدد من أقاربه أقروا بأنه (علي سالم الجميدي) الحقيقي، فيما نفى عدد آخر ومنهم الحاج سالم الجميدي والذي يعرف ملامحه جيدا، أن يكون هذا الرجل هو علي .
وحول التوقع بأنه قادم من سجون الاحتلال، أكد قاسم أن معظم حديثه عن السجون في اسرائيل، وأن رواية قديمة لأحد السجناء المفرج عنهم من سجون اسرائيل أفادت بوجود أحد أبناء عشيرة البدول الذين يسكنون البترا في السجون الاسرائيلية، أعادت قصة الجميدي إلى حيز الوجود في ظل ظهور الرجل ووجود شبه بينه وبين (علي سالم الجميدي).
ويؤكد الثمانيني الحاج سليمان الهلالات، أنه عندما شاهد صورة الرجل المسن وجد فيها شبها كبيرا من ملامح وهيئة (علي سالم الجميدي) المعروف بأنه متوفي منذ أكثر من (45 عاما).
ويبين قاسم الذي رأى الرجل المسن، أن جدلا كبيرا أثارته عودة الرجل في صفوف أقاربه، مشيرا إلى أن هذا الجدل ستنهيه نتائج فحوصات الـ DNA المتوقع ظهورها بعد فترة وجيزة.
ويقول قاسم: «الرجل الذي يتواجد الآن في منطقة الديسة بالعقبة يعاني من فقدان الذاكرة، ولهجته أقرب إلى المصرية ويتحدث أحيانا عن جمال عبد الناصر ومن المحتمل أن يكون من بدو سيناء أو مصر، وأحيانا يشير حديثه إلى أنه من بدو الأردن أو بئر السبع».
ويضيف قاسم نقلا عن والده وبعض كبار السن، أن (علي سالم الجميدي) الحقيقي مجهول المصير نوعا ما، لأنه جثته حينما أتت للدفن بعد مقتله في أحداث 1967 كانت أشلاء مشوهة تماما.. فالجثة أتت مع جثة رجل آخر يدعى (عيد السعيديين)، حيث تم التعرف على جثة عيد، فيما لم يتم التعرف على جثة «علي» نتيجة التشوهات والحروق التي أخفت ملامحها.
ويوضح قاسم، ان (علي سالم الجميدي) كان عمره عام 1967 يتجاوز (40 سنة) وأنه يفترض أن يتجاوز عمره الآن (85 سنة) في حين أن الرجل الذي ظهر لا يكاد يتجاوز عمره (75 سنة).
من جانب آخر نقلت صحيفة «صدى الإلكترونية السعودية» خبرا يحمل صورة ذات الرجل بعنوان « فاقد للذاكرة يُعتقد أنه سعودي في ضيافة عائلة أردنية».
ووفقا للصحيفة، قال الشاب إبراهيم الشامان إن المذكور يسكن حالياً مع العائلة الأردنية ويتمتع بصحة جيدة، والعائلة الأردنية تعتقد أنه سعودي الجنسية لعثورهم معه على عملات نقدية سعودية.
وطالب شامان بحسب الصحيفة، أبناء المحافظات القريبة من العقبة الأردنية بالتواصل عبر وسائل التقنية إذا توفر لأحدهم معلومات عن المذكور.
وتعليقا على الخبر، استبعد قاسم أن يكون الرجل سعودي لأن لهجته لا تمت للسعودية بصلة، مشيرا إلى أنه أثناء تفتيشه عثر معه على عملات سعودية، كان رجل سعودي قد تعرف عليه ونقله بسيارته من منطقة «تتن» بالعقبة قد أعطاها له.
ويعتبر قاسم أنه رغم الانقسام في صفوف أقاربه تجاه هوية الرجل وما تغيره السنوات في ملامح وطباع الإنسان، إلا أن نتائج الـ DNA، هي من ستحدد ما إذا كان هذا الرجل هو فعلا (علي سالم الجميدي) الذي يفترض أن يكون قد توفي قبل أكثر من (45 عاما) أم لا؟
القسم : صورة وتعليق
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اخبار الصومال : انفجار كبير في المنطقة التجارية والادارية في مقديشو وسط اشتباكات عنيفة بين القوات الحكومية ومقاتلي حركة الشباب

اخبار الصومال : انفجار كبير في المنطقة التجارية والادارية في مقديشو وسط اشتباكات عنيفة بين القوات الحكومية ومقاتلي حركة الشباب


05 مايو
2013 الكاتب : Shahd

هز انفجار مدو المنطقة التجارية والإدارية في العاصمة الصومالية مقديشو، الأحد، ما أدى إلى تصاعد الدخان الأسود في سماء المدينة.
ونقلت رويترز عن شهود عيان أنه سٌمع إطلاق نار على الفور في حي كيلوم متر 4.
جاء الانفجار بعد يوم من استعادة القوات الحكومية بمساندة قوات حفظ السلام الإفريقية من استعادة السيطرة على مدينة تييغلو بإقليم بكول جنوب غربي البلاد،، بعد معارك عنيفة مع مقاتلي حركة الشباب في المدينة.
وتعتبر مدينة تييغلو من أكبر المعاقل لحركة الشباب المجاهدين بعد انسحابها من المدن الكبرى في الصومال بسبب الضربات التي وجهتها قوات الإتحاد الإفريقي والقوات الحكومية، إضافة إلى القوات الإيثوبية.

 شاهد المحتوى الأصلي على شبكة معنا الترفيهية
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لماذا يهاجم الرهبان البوذيون المسلمين؟

بواسطة BBC Arabic | بي بي سي – الجمعة، 3 مايو 2013
وتروي الملحمة أنه انتقى 500 راهب وخاض بهم حربا ضد ملك غير بوذي.
وبرر حكام بورما، الذين أطلق عليهم اسم "ملوك الصلاح"، الحروب بأنها كانت باسم ما وصفوه بالعقيدة البوذية الحقيقية.
ونهضت البوذية بدور رائد في الحركات الوطنية التي ظهرت في بورما وسريلانكا بغية التحرر من نير الامبراطورية البريطانية. واحيانا ما أفضى ذلك الى اعمال عنف. (حريق يشرد مئات المسلمين بميانمار)
والاكثر أهمية أن الكثير بدأ يشعر بأن البوذية جزء لا يتجزأ عن هويته الوطنية، وأن موقف الأقليات في هذه الدول المستقلة حديثا كان موقفا لا يبعث على الراحة.
وفي عام 1983 اندلع توتر عرقي في سريلانكا تحول الى حرب أهلية ، ففي اعقاب مذبحة مناهضة للتاميل، سعت جماعات انفصالية تاميلية في شمال وشرق الجزيرة الى الانسلاخ عن الحكومة التي تهيمن عليها اغلبية سينهالية.
وخلال الحرب وقعت أسوأ اعمال عنف ضد المسلمين في سريلانكا على يد متمردي التاميل، وبعد ان وضعت الحرب الدموية اوزارها بهزيمة المتمردين عام 2009، يبدو ان غضب الاغلبية وجد هدفا جديدا في الاقلية المسلمة. (الخوف من التطرف البوذي يطارد المسلمين في ميانمار)
حماة البلاد
وفي بورما استخدم الرهبان البوذيون نفوذهم الاخلاقي لتحدي الحكم العسكري في البلاد والجدل الدائر بشأن الديمقراطية في ثورة عام 2007. واختار الرهبان آنذاك الاحتجاجات السلمية لتحقيق أهدافهم.
والان يستخدم بعض الرهبان نفوذهم الاخلاقي لتحقيق هدف مختلف تماما. فمجتمع الرهبنة، المؤلف من 500 ألف راهب، لا يخلو من الغاضبين، خاصة أن أعدادا منهم أودعت الأديرة في الطفولة هربا من الفقر أو اليتم.
وطبيعة العلاقة بين المتطرفين البوذيين والاحزاب الحاكمة في البلدين غير واضحة المعالم. 
فوزير الدفاع السريلانكي جوتابايا راجاباكسا حل ضيف شرف خلال افتتاح مدرسة لتدريب المقاتلين، كما اشار الى الرهبان بوصفهم "حماة البلاد والدين والعرق."
ويبدو ان الرسالة المعادية للمسلمين لاقت صدى لدى بعض السكان.
وعلى الرغم من كونهم يمثلون أغلبية في البلدين، يتفق الكثير من البوذيين في ضرورة اتحاد بلادهم وان دينهم يواجه تهديدا. 
ويعتقد الكثير من الناس ان الاسلام المتشدد يحتل بؤرة الصراعات الاكثر عنفا في العالم. فهم يشعرون انهم هدف لحملات لهدف تحويلهم عن دينهم تنظمها الديانات التوحيدية، كما يعتقدون انه اذا كانت الديانات الاخرى تتسم بالغلظة، فمن الأفضل لهم أن يسلكوا نفس المسلك. (رهبان بوذيون في سريلانكا يقودون هجوما ضد مسلمين)

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Guantanamo camp burns through $900,000 a year per inmate

Reuters


An unidentified prisoner reads a newspaper in a communal cellblock at Camp VI, a prison used to house detainees at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, March 5, 2013. REUTERS-Bob Strong
The interior of an unoccupied communal cellblock is seen at Camp VI, a prison used to house detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay in this March 5, 2013 file photo. REUTERS-Bob Strong-Files
 















WASHINGTON | Fri May 3, 2013 8:30pm EDT


(Reuters) - It's been dubbed the most expensive prison on Earth and President Barack Obama cited the cost this week as one of many reasons to shut down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, which burns through some $900,000 per prisoner annually.
The Pentagon estimates it spends about $150 million each year to operate the prison and military court system at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba, which was set up 11 years ago to house foreign terrorism suspects. With 166 inmates currently in custody, that amounts to an annual cost of $903,614 per prisoner.
By comparison, super-maximum security prisons in the United States spend about $60,000 to $70,000 at most to house their inmates, analysts say. And the average cost across all federal prisons is about $30,000, they say.
The high cost was just one reason Obama cited when he returned this week to an unfulfilled promise to close the prison and said he would try again. Obama also said that the prison, set up under his Republican predecessor George W. Bush and long the target of criticism by rights groups and foreign governments, is a stain on the reputation of the United States.
"It's extremely inefficient," said Ken Gude, chief of staff and vice president at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank, who has followed developments at Guantanamo Bay since 2005.
"That ... may be what finally gets us to actually close the prison. I mean the costs are astronomical, when you compare them to what it would cost to detain somebody in the United States," Gude said.
The cost argument could be a potent weapon at a time of running budget battles between Obama and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, and of across-the-board federal spending cuts that kicked in in March. The "sequestration" as it is known, is due to cut some $109 billion in spending up to the end of September and has cut government services small and large.
Just one inmate from Guantanamo, for example, is equivalent to the cost of 12 weeks of White House tours for the public - a treasured tradition that the Secret Service says costs $74,000 a week and that has been axed under sequestration.
A single inmate is also the equivalent of keeping open the control tower at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport for 45 months. That control tower, another victim of cuts, costs $20,000 per month to run.
The $900,000 also matches the funding for nearly seven states to help serve home delivered meals to the elderly. Sequestration has cost Meals on Wheels a median shortfall of $129,497 per state, the organization says.
Or measured in terms of military spending and national security, the cost of four inmates represents the cost of training an Air Force fighter pilot - based on the Department of Defense's figure of $3.6 million per pilot.
WHY THE HUGE COST?
The huge cost of running the prison and judicial complex stem from its offshore location at a 45-square-mile U.S. Naval Base on the southeastern coast of Cuba. Because ties between the two countries are almost nonexistent, almost everything for the facilities has to be ferried in from outside.
When the military tribunals are in session, everyone from judges and lawyers to observers and media have to fly into Guantanamo on military aircraft. Food, construction materials and other goods are shipped in from outside, experts say.
But despite the high cost of the camp, and despite the fact that Republicans traditionally demand belt-tightening by the federal government, a Republican aide with the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said there was little point in asking if the price was worth it because "there isn't an alternative at the moment."
"No one has any particular affection for Guantanamo Bay, but no one has come up with a practical solution that's better," the aide said.
Obama needs to produce a plan for what to do with the detainees at Guantanamo "who are too dangerous to release," Representative Buck McKeon, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in an opinion piece in USA Today this week. "Until a better solution is offered, at Guantanamo they must stay," he wrote.
Among current inmates, nine have been charged with crimes or convicted, 24 are considered eligible for possible prosecution, 86 have been cleared for transfer or release and 47 are considered too dangerous for release but are not facing prosecution.
But until now, worries about security have prevented the idea of transferring some or all of the inmates to the United States from getting much traction.
Obama pledged to close the prison within a year after first taking office in January 2009 but his efforts ran aground, partly because of congressional opposition, from both Republicans and some in his own Democratic Party, to transferring prisoners to the United States.
Inmates started a hunger strike in February that has swelled to some 100 prisoners and has led to force-feeding of 23 of the prisoners. With the camp back under a critical spotlight, Obama told a news conference on Tuesday he would renew efforts to shut it down. He has an array of options, some of which would be more achievable than others.
Gude said it was difficult to figure out how much the United States has spent overall on Guantanamo detention facilities since it began housing prisoners there in 2002 because administrations only recently have been noting the expense in a budget line item.
"I don't know if I've ever seen an estimate but it is certainly more than $1 billion by a comfortable margin, I would say, probably more than $2 billion," Gude said.
Above the annual operating cost, capital spending on the prison could rise again if the Pentagon receives the funding it says it needs to renovate the place.
General John Kelly, the head of Southern Command, which is responsible for Guantanamo, told a House of Representatives panel in March that he needed some $170 million to improve the facilities for troops stationed at the base as part of detention operations. Kelly said the living conditions were "pretty questionable" and told the panel, "We need to take care of our troops."
(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Frances Kerry and Tim Dobbyn)

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Israel has conducted airstrike in Syria: U.S. official

Reuters


An Israeli air force F15-E fighter jet takes off for a mission over the Gaza Strip, from the Tel Nof air base in central Israel November 19, 2012. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
WASHINGTON | Sat May 4, 2013 3:54am EDT
(Reuters) - Israel has conducted an airstrike in Syria, apparently targeting a building, a U.S. official said on Friday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to elaborate. CNN quoted two unnamed U.S. officials as saying Israel most likely conducted the strike "in the Thursday-Friday time frame" and that Israel's warplanes did not enter Syrian airspace.
CNN said the officials did not believe Israel had targeted a chemical weapons facility. CBS News cited U.S. sources as saying Israel targeted a warehouse.
An Israeli military spokeswoman in Jerusalem declined to comment.
But one source told Reuters that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Thursday night convened his security cabinet in Jerusalem for secret talks - often a sign of imminent action. The source, who would not be identified by name or nationality, did not elaborate on what was discussed at the meeting.
A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington said: "We cannot comment on these reports, but what we can say is that Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, especially to Hezbollah in Lebanon." Hezbollah fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.
There was no other official confirmation of the strike.
Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari told Reuters: "I'm not aware of any attack right now."
A White House spokeswoman referred questions on the CNN report to the Israeli government. The Pentagon declined comment.
The CNN report said that during the time frame of the attack, the United States had collected information showing Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanon.
In January this year, Israel bombed a convoy in Syria, apparently hitting weapons destined for Hezbollah, according to diplomats, Syrian rebels and security sources in the region.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Arshad Mohammed and Phil Stewart in Washington, and Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Lou Charbonneau at the United Nations, Writing by Sandra Maler; Editing by Peter Cooney)Share4

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/04/us-syria-crisis-israel-usa-idUSBRE94300B20130504
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