At dawn on June 3, Sheikh Maher Hammoud, the imam of the al-Quds Mosque in Sidon, became the target of an assassination attempt as he left his home to lead prayers. At approximately the same time, another sheikh, in northern Lebanon, found himself the target of a similar attack.
The Lebanese security forces believe there is a link between the two incidents, because the targeted sheikhs are both Sunnis who support Shiite Hezbollah. It is thought that the attempts on their lives were a message from al-Qaeda or parties in Lebanon with similar ideologies to all Sunni sheikhs who support Iran and Hezbollah that they will meet with similar fates if they fail to change their views.