Car bomb near Beirut kills Christian lawmaker
A powerful car bomb in a Christian neighborhood just east of Beirut killed a Christian lawmaker from the governing coalition and six others Wednesday evening. It was the latest in a deadly string of bombings that have rocked Lebanon’s teetering political order as the country prepares to select a new president.
The bombing appeared to have deep political implications, giving credence to longstanding fears of a plot to eliminate the governing March 14 movement’s razor-thin majority in Parliament.
The bomb, apparently hidden inside a parked car in the Sin el Fil neighborhood, exploded just as the lawmaker, Antoine Ghanem of the Christian Phalange Party, drove past. The explosion ripped through the busy street, crushing cars and damaging buildings nearby, in a scene now eerily familiar in this politically tense city. [complete article]
