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Beirut blast kills army general
12/12/2007 09:15 - (SA)
Beirut - A large explosion rocked a Christian suburb east of Beirut early on Wednesday morning, killing four people, including a top military general, and injuring dozens, the state-run news agency said.
The agency said Brigadier General Francois Hajj, head of military operations in the army command, was killed in the explosion along with his bodyguard. His name had been mentioned among others as a possible successor to army commander Michel Suleiman, if he is elected president.
The army had no immediate comment.
Political crisis
The explosion came as Lebanon is embroiled in its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war and amid heightened tensions between pro-government and opposition groups. The country has been without a president since November 23 when Emile Lahoud left office and a deadlocked parliament failed to elect a successor.
This the first time the military has been targeted in a bombing in recent months. The military has managed to keep the peace amid the serious political crisis in recent months.
The army also crushed Islamic militants in summer fighting in a northern Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp that left hundreds dead. The bombing came as pro- and anti-government groups were locked in dispute over how to elect the army commander, General Michel Suleiman, as compromise candidate to fill the vacant president's post.
Red Cross rescuers reported two dead and seven wounded who were taken to area hospitals. Others were being treated on the spot and rescuers were searching in wrecked vehicles for more casualties, said George Kettaneh, of the rescue service at the Lebanese Red Cross.
He spoke on Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation TV, which earlier reported that four dead and dozens were wounded in the explosion.
Two bodies were thrown about 15 metres by the force of the explosion. Troops sealed off the area as firefighters tried to put out the flames in at least two cars. The road was blacked with the soot as black smoke covered the area.
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