Beirut's bloody Valentine's Day back in 2005, the day former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed, saw the first appearance of "Al-Nusra," a group that then claimed the responsibility for the Sunni leader's assassination. A young jihadist called Ahmad Abu Adas appeared in a videotape that was aired exclusively on the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera news network saying he belonged to the group that killed Saudi Arabia's strongman in Lebanon. The claim wasn’t taken seriously and pro-Hariri supporters and politicians accused the Syrian regime of fabricating the group to distract attention.
A group made up of 13 jihadists was arrested in Beirut, and its members confessed to playing a role in the assassination; later on, members of the group discarded their testimonies, saying they were coerced.