Military Investigative Judge Imad Zein issued arrest warrants for a senior Abdullah Azzam Brigades commander and four accomplices in connection with the deadly 2013 Bir Abed and Ruweiss car bombings.
The warrants were issued against Naim Abbas, a Palestinian national and the Lebanon-based military commander of the Azzam Brigades. Abbas is the alleged mastermind behind two other devastating bombings in the Beirut southern suburb of Haret Hreik on Jan. 2 and Jan. 21.
Four other warrants were issued for four accomplices who remain at large.
Zein issued the warrants after finalizing the probe into the Bir al-Abed and Ruweiss car bombings.
Over 50 people were killed when a car bomb ripped through Bir al-Abed in the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 9, 2013. Weeks later, a similar attack in nearby Ruweiss killed at least 27 people and wounded more than 300.
Abbas has been in custody since February 12. He has already been charged in connection with the Haret Hreik explosions.
A judicial source told The Daily Star that Zein referred the case to Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr to make recommendations before an indictment is issued.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Lebanon, including the Nov. 19 twin suicide bombings on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut that left 30 people dead, among them an Iranian diplomat.
