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A mother and her three daughters murdered in Ansar, South Lebanon

A mother and her three daughters murdered in Ansar, South Lebanon

Photographs of three of the victims. (Source: NNA)

BEIRUT - A woman and her three daughters were murdered in the town of Ansar, south Lebanon, reported state-run National News Agency.

Here’s what we know:

    • The wife of Ansar’s mokhtar (local official responsible for records), Zakaria Safawi, and his three daughters aged 16, 20 and 22, were reported missing 25 days ago, as ongoing investigations revealed that they were accompanied on a trip by a man from their town who the NNA identified only as H. J. Fayyad, aged 36.

    • The Lebanese Army, in a statement, identified the mother as Basma Abbas and her daughters as Rima, Tala, and Manal, born in 2000, 2002 and 2006 respectively.

    • The South and Nabatieh intelligence branches conducted investigations after the four women were reported missing, which led to the arrest of Fayyad, who later confessed to the mass killing. According to the Army statement, the suspect confessed to kidnapping the women with the assistance of an accomplice and transporting them to a cave, where they were murdered. The accomplice is still a fugitive.

    • Fayyad admitted that he buried the family in a citrus orchard between the towns of Zararia and Ansar, the NNA reported. Extensive searches were carried out since yesterday afternoon, but the investigation was interrupted by heavy rains and bad weather.

    • The search was completed this morning, after the four bodies were found, identified and transported by ambulances for further forensic examination.

    • The circumstances of the crime are still under investigation.

This post has been updated with information from the Lebanese Army statement and has been corrected to reflect that Zakaria is the mokhtar, not the mayor, of Ansar.

BEIRUT - A woman and her three daughters were murdered in the town of Ansar, south Lebanon, reported state-run National News Agency.
Here’s what we know:    • The wife of Ansar’s mokhtar (local official responsible for records), Zakaria Safawi, and his three daughters aged 16, 20 and 22, were reported missing 25 days ago, as ongoing investigations revealed that they were...