Another honor killing: Pregnant teen killed by brother, cousin in Lebanon

BEIRUT: A pregnant teenager was killed by her brother and cousin in south Lebanon in what police have described as an "honor killing" case, security sources said Friday.

The body of 18-year-old Baghdad Khaled al-Issa was found late Thursday at a farm in the southern border region of Wazzani, the sources told The Daily Star.

They said Issa, from the Bekaa Valley town of Qab Elias, was found in a pool of blood with several stab wounds to her head and sides.

An investigation revealed that Issa was killed by her own brother, Jihad, and her cousin in a so-called "family honor" killing, a police report said.

One security source said the teen was seven months into her pregnancy.

Issa’s brother has confessed to the gruesome crime.

Later Friday, both Issa’s brother and cousin arrived at the farm to reenact the crime.

Some media reports said Issa’s brother was the father of the unborn baby. However, police are waiting for the results of the autopsy report.

In August 2011, lawmakers passed a proposal increasing punishment for so-called “honor crimes.”

The law calls for canceling an article in the penal code that grants a commutation of sentence for anyone who kills a wife, husband or close family member caught in the act of adultery, under the pretext that the act was driven by extreme anger.