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PFLP leader says Israel killed his son

DAMASCUS, Syria, May 20 (UPI) -- Ahmad Jibril, commander of the Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, accused Israel Monday of assassinating his son in a Beirut car-bomb attack earlier in the day.

"There have been four failed attempts (to kill him) but this time they succeeded," Jibril said.

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In Beirut, PFLP-GC spokesman Abu Rushdi told United Press International that 41-year-old Jihad Jibril, the military commander of the PFLP-GC, died in an explosion shortly before midday on a street in the Mar Elias residential neighborhood. He also was a member of the PFLP-GC's Central Committee.

Lebanese security sources said explosives had been placed under the driver seat of a car. The explosion damaged several vehicles and shops. Security forces cordoned the area and began an investigation.

Lebanese general prosecutor, Judge Joseph Maamari, concluded his investigation into Jibril's killing calling it a "terrorist action" and referring the case to the Military General Prosecution.

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Jihad Jibril, known for being his father's right-hand aide, had previously escaped several attempts on his life, allegedly carried out by Israeli interests that accused him of masterminding several guerrilla operations against Israeli targets. He was charged with supervising the PFLP-GC military operations and training camps.

In Damascus, asked if Jihad was killed because he was his son, Jibril said, "Everybody knew that he was a serious field commander and the enemy (Israel) knew he was in confrontation with him. As for being my eldest son, we consider him like the rest of the martyrs."

The Israeli defense minister's media adviser, Yarden Vatikay denied involvement. "Israel has no connection to this," he told United Press International.

Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told reporters he knew nothing about the incident. The Prime Minister's Office would not comment on the attack.

The pro-Syrian Damascus-based PFLP-GC controls some positions in eastern Lebanon and the coastal town of Naameh, south of Beirut.

Jibril's group, which opposes the policies of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and rejects any peace accord with Israel, was on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

The PLFP-GC is not connected with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, known by its four-letter acronym PFLP, which operates in the West Bank.

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The group split from the PFLP in 1968 and has close ties with both Syria and Iran.

Ahmed Jibril's second son, Khaled, traveled to Beirut, inspected the blast area and said there may have been "security loopholes" through which the killers were able to carry out their mission.

Omar al Shihabi, a PFLP-GC Politburo member, told UPI in Damascus his group is not ruling out additional assassination attempts against its leaders. He said Jibril's death was "not an ordinary crime" and "we expect no one other than Israel to have interest" in the killing.

Al Shihabi said the killing was in retaliation for the PFLP-GC's firing of Katyusha rockets from southern Lebanon into northern Israel last month in support of the Palestinian intifada.

"We had some activities to back the intifada, including the Katyushas and sending a ship loaded with weapons" that was captured by the Israelis off the Lebanese border area of Naqoura last year, he said.

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(Thanaa Imam in Damascus, Syria, Dalal Saoud in Beirut, Lebanon, and Joshua Brilliant in Tel Aviv, Israel, reported.)

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