battle of at tiri.

hmoud Bazzi, the brother of Massoud Bazzi, who had been killed in Battle of At Tiri, who was also member of the SLA, is the primary suspect in the murders. Shortly after the incident, he openly admitted to killing Barrett and Smallhorne on Lebanese television and claimed he did so to avenge his brother, but later retracted his statements, claiming his commander had forced him. In 1994, he was granted asylum in the United States, and worked as an ice cream vendor in Dearborn, Michigan.[9][10]
U.S. authorities interviewed one of the journalists involved and O'Mahony, and expressed their willingness to testify against Bazzi, but claimed that they did not hear anything more from the authorities for years. Bazzi was also interviewed by officials. In 2013, he applied for U.S. citizenship, but the application stalled when the investigation picked up.[5]
In July 2014, Bazzi was arrested for "administrative immigration violations" by US federal agents at his Dearborn home. He was alleged to have entered the United States on a false passport. Friends and relatives of Privates Barrett and Smallhorne had been seeking his deportation to Lebanon to face war crimes charges.[8] In August 2014, Bazzi confessed to immigration fraud and agreed to be deported to Lebanon.[11]
In late 2015, Mahmoud Bazzi was arrested and put on trial before a Beirut military court with a seven-judge panel. John O'Mahony gave evidence during the trial, and positively identified Bazzi as the man who shot him and led Barrett and Smallhorne away. He was protected at all times by a Close Protection Team from the Irish Army Ranger Wing.[12] The trial was adjourned until April 2016.