Four dead in attack on US embassy vehicle in Lebanon
Pastor Dale Morgan
Four dead in attack on US embassy vehicle in Lebanon
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James Orr and agencies
Tuesday January 15, 2008
Guardian Unlimited
Lebanese soldiers and police secure the site of a fatal car bomb
explosion in a suburb north of Beirut. Photograph: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
At least four people were killed and 16 wounded in an attack on a US
embassy vehicle in Lebanon today.
Senior Lebanese security officials said the explosion occurred just
north of the capital city, Beirut.
"There was a blast inside a car between the Dawra and Qarantina area and
we have reports of injuries," a security official told the news agency, AFP.
A US embassy spokeswoman, Cherie Lenzen, said: "We haven't ruled out
that a US embassy car was targeted; we have no information at this point."
Authorities said the attack had taken place in the predominantly
Christian Dora-Karantina neighbourhood. It is understood that the four
people killed were Lebanese nationals.
Television footage showed several damaged cars at the scene, including
an SUV with tinted windows, similar to those used by US diplomats.
A Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation correspondent who was in the area at
the time of the explosion reported seeing the charred body of at least
one person.
The station also reported that a person in a car belonging to the
embassy had been wounded. Plainclothes security agents were seen
removing an automatic rifle from the SUV.
Today's blast comes amid a deepening political crisis in Lebanon, with
rival parties deadlocked over efforts to find a replacement for the
former pro-Syrian head of state, Emile Lahoud. The country is set to
hold a 12th parliamentary session aimed at electing a president on
January 21 after numerous delays.
In the past three years, there has been a string of explosions in
Lebanon targeting mainly anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.
A car bomb on December 12 killed General Francois El Hajj, who was
tipped to replace army chief General Michel Sleiman if he was elected
president. Three other people died in the attack.