Plane carrying bodies of Lebanese killed in Istanbul arrives to Beirut

The plane also carried five of the injured, Nasser Bechara, Melissa Palarado, Nidal Becherrawi, Francois al-Asmar and Jihad Abdel Khaleq.

 

As for the Lebanese injured Bouchra Doueihi, she will remain in Istanbul to receive the needed medical treatment, while her condition was described as “stable.”

Three Lebanese nationals were killed and five others were wounded in the New Year's Eve massacre at an Istanbul nightclub.

The death of Lebanese citizens Elias Wardini, Rita Chami and Haykal Mousallem and the wounding of Nasser Bechara, Francois al-Asmar, Nidal Becherrawi, Bouchra Doueihi and Melissa Palarado, were confirmed on Sunday.

This as another Lebanese national identified as Jihad Abdel Khaleq was also reported wounded this morning. His injury was reported as minor and left hospital.

 

As for Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouq, he said following a meeting of senior security officials in Beirut Airport tasked to prepare for the repatriation that there are no obstacles related the recovering of the bodies and the injured, adding that the security in Lebanon is “under control.”​

 

Earlier in the day, Higher Relief Commission Secretary General Major General Mohammed Kheir toured the hospitals in which the Lebanese injured are being treated in.

 
Kheir was accompanied by chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants in Lebanon, Mira Daher and a medical crew, in addition to members of the families of the Lebanese victims.

This as a meeting was held between the Lebanese delegation and the Turkish authorities to discuss the procedures related to the transfer of the injured and the bodies to Lebanon.

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Monday for a New Year's Day mass shooting in a packed Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people, an attack carried out by a lone gunman who remains at large.
 
It described the Reina nightclub, where many foreigners as well as Turks were killed, as a gathering point for Christians celebrating their "apostate holiday".