☠Ismail al-Khatib dies in custody; Majdal Anjar protests

On 27 September 2004 Ismail al-Khatib, detained a week earlier on the charge of plotting to bomb the Italian embassy, died of what the security services said was a heart attack; the people of Majdal Anjar came out, stoned the security post on the border and demanded an independent inquiry and the interior minister's resignation.