Imad Othman Succeeds Hasan as ISF Intelligence Bureau Head

Colonel Imad Othman succeeded Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan as the head of the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau.

Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi appointed on Sunday night Othman after tackling the matter with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.

Othman worked with Hasan, who was assassinated on Friday, during the tenure of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.

He also was the head of the Grand Serail police forces during the tenure of former PM Saad Hariri before his cabinet was toppled in 2011.

Hasan, killed in a massive car bomb on Friday along with two other people in Ashrafiyeh, had himself returned to Lebanon the previous day.

Under Hasan, the ISF played a central role in the August arrest of Lebanon's former information minister Michel Samaha, who has close links to Damascus. He was charged with planning attacks to spark sectarian strife in Lebanon.

The agency was also deeply involved in seeking the arrest of those responsible for a host of attacks and assassinations between 2005 and 2008, starting with the Hariri assassination, for which Hasan blamed Damascus.

In October 2010, the Syrian courts issued arrest warrants against 33 Lebanese figures, including Hasan, for perjury in the case of the Hariri assassination.