Lebanon bomb targeted top politician
A bomb targeting the motorcade of Lebanon’s most prominent politician killed at least nine people on Beirut’s famed seafront boulevard today.
It is not known if former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri survived. At least one of his bodyguards was among those killed, witnesses said.
Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation said Hariri was taken to a hospital.
The front of the famous St George Hotel was devastated in the blast, with several balconies blown off.
Along the Mediterranean corniche, at least 20 cars were in flames or destroyed, and the fronts of several other buildings were heavily damaged, including a British bank and the landmark Phoenicia Hotel.
Explosions in Beirut – while common during the 1975-90 civil war – have become rare since the conflict ended.
However, in October, amid rising tensions between the government and opposition groups, a car bomb seriously injured an opposition politician and killed his driver in Beirut.
Hariri is a self-made billionaire who has led Lebanon for most of the period since the 1975-1990 civil war ended. Since leaving office in October, he has been considered in the opposition. He has been in a rivalry with pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud for years.
Witnesses at the scene confirmed that Hariri’s motorcade was passing the area as the bomb went off.
TV footage showed dramatic scenes of one burning man struggling to get out of a car window, then falling on the ground. He was helped by a bystander who used his jacket to put out the flames, but it was not clear if he survived.
Several young women were seen with blood running down their faces. Some had to be helped from the scene.
Heavily armed security forces cordoned off the area with yellow tape as rescue workers and investigators combed the scene apparently looking for casualties or clues to what caused the huge explosion.
The explosion near the city’s waterfront shortly before noon (10am Irish time) shook buildings in the city centre and was heard in outlying hills overlooking the Lebanese capital.
Rubble and twisted debris covered a road lined with burning cars, the smoke from which enveloping the area as firefighters carrying houses raced to douse flames.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.
