Hezbollah chief contacts Aoun after south Lebanon shooting

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah contacted MP Michel Aoun Saturday and voiced relief that his March 8 ally survived an assassination attempt earlier in the day. “Nasrallah contacted Gen. Aoun to check on his health and congratulated him on surviving the assassination attempt,” Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station reported. Aoun, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement and ally to Hezbollah, said Saturday he was the target of an attempted assassination during an incident that took place earlier in the day. Security sources told The Daily Star that a shot was fired at a vehicle belonging to one of two decoy convoys accompanying Aoun during his return trip from Jezzine, south Lebanon. Aoun headed to Jezzine in three convoys, two of which were decoys. The three convoys took separate routes during the voyage to and from Jezzine, where Aoun had earlier addressed supporters in an apparent primer for the upcoming 2013 elections. Authorities have launched an investigation into the shooting. (daily star)