Details of the attempt on Geagea’s life using a high-powered rifle

The Head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea said on Wednesday that he was taking a walk with a group of companions around his residence in Maarab at noon and bent over to pick up a flower when he heard the sound of two bullets that, later on, appeared to have struck a near-by wall.  

According to Geagea, at least one sniper fired .50 or .57 caliber bullets from more than one kilometer away. The LF leader said that the party behind the assassination attempt did not shake Maarab’s security, adding that it used modern technology to monitor the residents’ movements from a distance of four kilometers. Ghazir police department and the Lebanese Armed Forces took charge of the investigations to find the perpetrators. The LAF sent a helicopter to sweep the surrounding wooded area.  

Exclusive security sources told LBCI that the shots originated from an area west of his residence and that a possible shooters post was found 1.5 kilometer away. The rifle used was a .50 caliber and has been in use for 80 years and has a range of 1,800 to 2,000 meters. Over the past years, this rifle has been modified to be installed on vehicles along with a scope that enables the shooter to engage targets at long distances.  

Both .50cal and .57cal rifles are American and Russian made and have become widely used by snipers over the past decade.