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| Powerful Bomb Kills Senior Politician in Lebanese Capital | Powerful Bomb Kills Senior Politician in Lebanese Capital |
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| BEIRUT, Lebanon — A powerful bomb shook central Beirut Friday morning, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more. Among the dead was Mohamad B. Chatah, a former Lebanese finance minister and ambassador to the United States who was a vocal critic of the government in neighboring Syria and its ally, the Lebanese militia and political party Hezbollah. | |
| It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Chatah was the intended target of the car bomb, nor was there an immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which was reminiscent of a string of unsolved bombings that have targeted anti-Syrian politicians over the past decade. | |
| Mr. Chatah was a prominent member of the Future bloc, the mainly Sunni party headed by Saad Hariri, the son of the former prime minister Rafik Hariri, whose death in a 2005 bombing in Beirut sparked a protest movement that ended Syria’s 29-year military presence in Lebanon. | |
| Nohad al-Mashnouq, a member of Parliament for the Future bloc and a friend of Mr. Chatah’s, confirmed in an interview that he had been killed. A Health Ministry official at the scene of the bombing said six people had been killed. | |
| Future is seen as supportive of the Syrian insurgency and close to Saudi Arabia, one of the insurgents’ main international backers. Lebanon is deeply divided over the civil war in Syria, with Hezbollah supporting the Syrian government and Future opposing it. | Future is seen as supportive of the Syrian insurgency and close to Saudi Arabia, one of the insurgents’ main international backers. Lebanon is deeply divided over the civil war in Syria, with Hezbollah supporting the Syrian government and Future opposing it. |
| Mr. Chatah, in a posting on Twitter on Friday morning, was critical of Hezbollah, saying it was seeking to exercise similar powers in the areas of security and foreign policy to those that Syria had in Lebanon for 15 years. Hezbollah has for months called on Lebanese to prevent violence from Syria from spilling over into their country and has been seen as not urging revenge for recent bombings in neighborhoods where it has many supporters, though the militant group is under pressure from some of their base to respond. | |
| The bombing was reminiscent of a string of assassinations of Lebanese politicians opposing the Syrian government over the past decade. No one has ever claimed responsibility for those bombings and none has been solved. | The bombing was reminiscent of a string of assassinations of Lebanese politicians opposing the Syrian government over the past decade. No one has ever claimed responsibility for those bombings and none has been solved. |
| Local television broadcast images of the blast scene in front of the Starco building complex, a downtown site notable for having survived unscathed through the civil war from 1975 to 1990 that gutted much of the surrounding area. Several dead bodies and many wounded people could be seen in the footage. | Local television broadcast images of the blast scene in front of the Starco building complex, a downtown site notable for having survived unscathed through the civil war from 1975 to 1990 that gutted much of the surrounding area. Several dead bodies and many wounded people could be seen in the footage. |
| Ambulances were seen taking victims from the downtown business district. Lebanese Red Cross workers and army members milled near the mangled and burned remains of an exploded car. At the Starco building complex, at the far end of the plaza hit by the bomb, entire glass walls of shops of an indoor mall were blown out. There was a hushed bustle at the scene as workers, several wearing bandages, swept broken glass from the complex, which includes a Rolls-Royce office, hair salons and an upscale gym. | Ambulances were seen taking victims from the downtown business district. Lebanese Red Cross workers and army members milled near the mangled and burned remains of an exploded car. At the Starco building complex, at the far end of the plaza hit by the bomb, entire glass walls of shops of an indoor mall were blown out. There was a hushed bustle at the scene as workers, several wearing bandages, swept broken glass from the complex, which includes a Rolls-Royce office, hair salons and an upscale gym. |
| Security has been heightened downtown, with soldiers standing guard at key intersections in armored vehicles. Jihadist groups fighting alongside the Syrian rebels, including Lebanese militants, have threatened to increase attacks in Lebanon over Hezbollah’s intervention on the side of the Syrian government, and at the same time, there have been fears of retaliation against Saudi or Sunni targets after bombings that targeted Hezbollah and the Iranian embassy in recent months. | Security has been heightened downtown, with soldiers standing guard at key intersections in armored vehicles. Jihadist groups fighting alongside the Syrian rebels, including Lebanese militants, have threatened to increase attacks in Lebanon over Hezbollah’s intervention on the side of the Syrian government, and at the same time, there have been fears of retaliation against Saudi or Sunni targets after bombings that targeted Hezbollah and the Iranian embassy in recent months. |
| Mr. Chatah, a prominent economist, was a seasoned diplomat, who had served as a senior adviser to former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and his successor, Saad Hariri. He was also a former finance minister and had been ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2000. He had also worked at the International Monetary Fund, and had been a spokesman for the Lebanese government. | Mr. Chatah, a prominent economist, was a seasoned diplomat, who had served as a senior adviser to former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and his successor, Saad Hariri. He was also a former finance minister and had been ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2000. He had also worked at the International Monetary Fund, and had been a spokesman for the Lebanese government. |
| Samer Abu Jaudeh, a businessman who works in the Starco complex and was unable to get into the sealed area, blamed factionalism within Lebanon’s government as a catalyst for the violence. “I think these explosions will continue until we get a national government working for Lebanon’s interests and not for the individuals’ and parties’ interests,” he said. “I see Lebanon now is a battlefield and a reflection of the conflicting parties in Syria. Maybe one day Lebanon will be at rest if the international community will solve what is happening in Syria.” | Samer Abu Jaudeh, a businessman who works in the Starco complex and was unable to get into the sealed area, blamed factionalism within Lebanon’s government as a catalyst for the violence. “I think these explosions will continue until we get a national government working for Lebanon’s interests and not for the individuals’ and parties’ interests,” he said. “I see Lebanon now is a battlefield and a reflection of the conflicting parties in Syria. Maybe one day Lebanon will be at rest if the international community will solve what is happening in Syria.” |
| It was the first bomb to hit downtown Beirut in several years, bringing the violence, which many believe is linked to the war in Syria, to the heart of Beirut’s business district. Several car bombs have been detonated in the southern suburbs in recent months. | It was the first bomb to hit downtown Beirut in several years, bringing the violence, which many believe is linked to the war in Syria, to the heart of Beirut’s business district. Several car bombs have been detonated in the southern suburbs in recent months. |
Hwaida Saad and Mohammad Ghannam contributed reporting from Beirut. | Hwaida Saad and Mohammad Ghannam contributed reporting from Beirut. |