Beirut Car Bomb Kills 8, Including Intel Chief

Soldiers inspect damage at scene of the explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, October 19, 2012. (Jeff Nuemann/VOA)

BEIRUT — A huge car bomb detonated on a residential street in Beirut at Friday rush hour, killing at least eight people including the nation's intelligence chief.

Scores were wounded in the heavy damage of the largely Christian district, many of whose residents support opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria.

Pan-Arab and Lebanese media reported that Wissam al-Hassan, who was in charge of a top intelligence unit, was killed and likely targeted. He led an investigation into a recent bomb plot that resulted in the arrest of a pro-Syrian Lebanese politician. He also led the probe that implicated Syria and the Hezbollah faction in the killing of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

No one took immediate responsibility for the blast and Syria condemned the bombing.

from VOANews
by Jeff Neumann
October 19, 2012

Posted in: Bashar al-Assad, BEIRUT, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Rafic Hariri