LEBANON: Hezbollah hands over helicopter shooting suspect

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The Shiite militant group Hezbollah handed over the suspect who allegedly shot at a Lebanese army helicopter Thursday, killing a pilot and forcing the chopper to make a crash landing, news agencies reported.

The incident brings several issues to light in Lebanon. First, it points to Hezbollah’s trigger-readiness. The group’s fighters are geared up for some kind of Israeli attack. Rumors have swirled in Lebanon and Israel about Hezbollah taking control of key hilltops and mountain positions in preparation for any Israeli incursion.

It also shows how much Hezbollah values its mostly positive relations with the army. Hezbollah didn’t beat around the bush or stonewall. it promptly handed over the suspect, as yet unnamed, in a speedy attempt at damage control.

But it also has rekindled worries among Lebanon’s Christians, Sunnis and Druze about Hezbollah’s formidable arsenal of weapons. Hezbollah claims they are meant to deter or combat any Israeli attack on Lebanon. But the only targets of Hezbollah’s weapons in recent months have been fellow Lebanese.

— Borzou Daragahi in Beirut