Beirut car bomb kills anti-Damascus security official

Beirut, October 20: A powerful car bomb in Beirut has killed a top security official linked to the anti-Damascus camp in Lebanon, officials said, further raising tensions over the war in the neighbouring country.


The rush-hour bombing in the predominantly Christian district of Ashrafieh killed at least two other people and wounded 96, Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told reporters at the scene.

A government official said the intelligence chief of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, General Wissam al-Hassan, was among the dead -- in one of the highest-profile killings since the 2005 murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

Hassan was close to Rafiq's son, Saad, who is leader of the opposition and hostile to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

He had been tipped to take over as ISF head at the end of this year.

Opposition politician Samir Geagea said Hassan "moved around with exceptional security measures" and had sent his wife and children to Paris because he "knew he was a target."

The ISF played a central role in the arrest in August of former Lebanese information minister Michel Samaha, who has close links to Damascus and was charged with planning attacks in Lebanon and transporting explosives.

The agency was also deeply involved in seeking the arrest of those responsible for a host of attacks and assassinations between 2005 and 2008, starting with the Hariri assassination.

Friday's blast occurred only 200 metres (yards) from the headquarters of the Christian party, the Phalange, which is also anti-Damascus.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Phalange MP Nadim Gemayel quickly accused Syria of orchestrating it.

"The Syrian regime is no stranger to such explosions. This is a political blast par excellence," Gemayel told LBC television.

"This regime, which is crumbling, is trying to export its conflict to Lebanon."

Geagea, head of the right-wing Lebanese Forces, also pointed the finger at Damascus, saying Hassan was targeted "because he arrested Samaha."

Following the news that Hassan, a Sunni Muslim, had been killed, angry Sunnis set fire to tyres and blocked the road from the northern city of Tripoli to the Syrian border, an AFP journalist witnessed.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi, meanwhile, condemned what he called a "terrorist, cowardly" attack, saying such incidents "are unjustifiable wherever they occur."

The incident has touched off painful memories of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war and the political unrest that has troubled post-war years, much of it linked to Syrian influence in the country.

It occurred in a busy square as pupils were leaving schools and bank employees headed home.

US condemns killing of key Lebanese leader in terror attack

The US has strongly condemned the assassination of a key Lebanese leader in a terrorist attack in Beirut, terming it a dangerous sign that there are people who continue to seek to undermine Lebanon's stability.

"The US condemns in the strongest terms the acts of terrorism that took place in Beirut's Achrafieh neighborhood. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who were killed," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.

The assassination of Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, who was a "strong defender" of Lebanon's security and its people, is a dangerous sign that there are people who continue to seek to undermine Lebanon's stability, she said.

"Lebanon must close the chapter of its past and bring an end to impunity for political assassinations and other politically motivated violence," Clinton said and called on all parties to exercise restraint and respect for Lebanon's stability and security.

"We will continue to work with our partners to preserve Lebanon's security and stability," she said, asserting that the US remains committed to an independent, sovereign, and stable Lebanon.

Earlier The White House too condemned the terrorist attack in Beirut.

"Lebanon's security and stability are vital both for the Lebanese people and their neighbors. There is no justification for using assassination as a political tool," National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

"The US will stand by the government and people of Lebanon as they work to bring those responsible for this barbaric attack to justice and build a future where all Lebanese can live in security and dignity," he said.