Lebanese Buses Bombed Near Christian Town!

Two bombs have exploded minutes apart near the Lebanese capital, killing three people and wounding 20 others. The explosions took place in the Christian heartland as have most of the bombings and shootings that have rocked Lebanon.

The casualties were travelling on two buses near Bikfaya, a mainly Christian town in the hills north of Beirut.

Initial reports said 12 people had died. Investigators sealed off the area to collect evidence from the wrecks.

The bombings come at a time of acute political tension in Lebanon, and a day before the second anniversary of the killing of former PM Rafik Hariri. Organisers of a mass rally planned in downtown Beirut on Wednesday to mark the Hariri assassination said there were no plans to cancel it.

Television footage showed at least one bus totally destroyed and ambulances carrying away people. Blood was pooled in several places near the bus wreckage. Troops in military uniforms and army buses were also at the scene.

Lebanese radio said the buses were passing through the village of Ain Alaq, in the province of northern Metn, just south of Bikfaya.

This was clearly a well-planned attack, involving considerable organisation and will reinforce fears of many Lebanese that hidden hands are at work trying to stir up civil strife.

Officials said the first bus exploded, causing damage and casualties, and as people rushed to the scene, a second explosion ripped through the second bus as it drove up behind it.

The death toll was initially reported as much higher, but the Lebanese Red Cross said its workers had only delivered three bodies to hospitals.

Bikfaya is the ancestral home of the Gemayels, one of the most prominent Christian families in Lebanese politics.

Pierre Gemayel, a member of Lebanon's western-backed, anti-Syrian coalition government, was gunned down by unknown attackers in East Beirut last November.

Three other prominent public figures from the anti-Syrian camp have died in bombings in the last two years. Syria has always denied accusations of involvement.

Political and sectarian tensions have running high in Lebanon, erupting in clashes in January between supporters and opponents of the government.

Correspondents say organisers from the different political factions have been working hard to avoid problems at Wednesday's pro-government rally, close to where opposition supporters have been holding a sit-in.

Lebanon's political crisis arose when six pro-Syrian ministers resigned in November, primarily over the endorsement by the cabinet of a UN tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri bombing.

Appeals for urgent blood donations were broadcast as ambulances rushed casualties to hospitals in the region and in Beirut. The Voice Of Lebanon radio stations said the targeted buses were driving people to their work.

CFPA: Who did this? Only one culprit comes to our mind! HEZBOLLAH, Syria's whore! Please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Lebanon.

Created: 13 February 2007 07:22