Huge Car Bomb Kills Lebanon's Former Prime Minister

[Rudey]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/14/in...rtner=homepage

February 14, 2005
Huge Car Bomb Kills Lebanon's Former Prime Minister
By LEENA SAIDI

EIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 14 - A huge car bomb killed Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafik al-Hariri, and six of his bodyguards today as Mr. Hariri's motorcade made its way along Beirut's waterfront.

At least two other civilians were also killed, security officials said, and many people were wounded, including two former ministers who were taken to the hospital with severe burns and are reported by hospital officials to be in critical condition.

The announcement of Mr. Hariri's death was made by Tourism Minister Farid Khazen.

The bomb, which is believed to have been planted in a car parked outside the St. George's Hotel, which is closed for renovations, left a 15-foot-deep crater in the road. Windows were shattered over a wide area and the force of the explosion could be felt up to two miles away.

Mr. Hariri, 60, a self-made billionaire, resigned from the government last October after a bitter dispute with President Emile Lahoud, but he continued to be a leading voice in the opposition. Mr. Hariri served three times for a total of about 12 years, but new elections are scheduled to be held in Lebanon in May and Mr. Hariri was in the running to make a comeback.

The political issue at the forefront of a heated debate here recently has been a call by the United Nations for all foreign troops, including those from Syria, to leave Lebanon.

Syria has long been the strongest military and political force in Lebanon and the current government, led by Prime Minister Omar Karami, is opposed to a Syrian pullout.

Damascus increased its presence after the Lebanese civil war, which ended in 1990. But calls for Syrian to remove its 14,000 troops have increased recently.

Although Mr. Hariri joined the opposition bloc in calling for a Syrian pullout, he did not voice his call as strongly as others have.

Mr. Hariri, who was on his way back from Parliament when the blast occurred, was dead on arrival at the hospital. The wounded former ministers are Bassem Fleihan and Samir Jisr.

Prime Minister Karami visited the scene of the blast, surrounded by security forces. Scores of firefighters doused burning vehicles, including 20 cars that were giving off black smoke. Fires were raging over a wide area.

Mr. Karami said in a statement that he felt sorrow at the death of Mr. Hariri, which he said was the work of "elements not wanting stability in Lebanon."

Syria's information minister, Mahdi Dakhl-Allah, told Reuters by phone: "Syria regards this as an act of terrorism, a crime that seeks to destablize" Lebanon.

The Syrians became the leading force in Lebanon after the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990.

-Rudey
--The Syrians are so upset that someone opposed to their occupation of Lebanon died