Initial reports published in Elaph indicated that a hitherto unknown group, "Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom of al-Sham" (where al-Sham refers to ancient Greater Syria) claimed responsibility.[18] The statement taking responsibility was also faxed to Reuters and included a warning that the same fate awaited other opponents of "Arabism" in Lebanon, claiming that the assassination has succeeded in "shutting up" a traitor, and "turning An-Nahar (Arabic for Day) into ″Dark Night″.