LEBANON: At least five people are killed and 35 wounded in attack on an army bus in Tripoli

Record ID: 356201

  • Title: LEBANON: At least five people are killed and 35 wounded in attack on an army bus in Tripoli
  • Date: 30th September 2008
  • Summary: LEBANESE FLAG ON TOP OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING WIDE EXTERIOR OF PARLIAMENT BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 15th October 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA7L87N1FP6IMNMR0LWC6RCAXJW
  • Story Text: A car bomb tore through an army bus in northern Lebanon on Monday (September 29), killing four soldiers and a civilian passerby in the second attack on the army in less than two months, security sources said.
    Thirty-five people were also wounded in the blast in the city of Tripoli, the scene of a bombing on 13 August that killed 10 soldiers and five civilians at a bus stop.
    Monday's car bomb exploded during the morning rush hour in the Buhsas area at the southern entrance to Lebanon's second largest city, hurling mangled metal through the bus, damaging other vehicles and shattering windows of nearby buildings.
    There were no immediate claims of responsibility.
    Last year the army crushed the al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam group at a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. At least 430 people were killed, including 170 soldiers and 220 militants, in 15 weeks of fighting that destroyed the camp.
    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country dominated Lebanon for three decades until 2005, warned earlier this month of a danger from what he called foreign-backed extremists in Tripoli -- a predominantly Sunni Muslim city.
    Hours before the bombing, Al-Diyar newspaper also warned that Islamist militants posed a growing threat, especially in northern Lebanon.
    Following the attack, one Tripoli resident said the security of Lebanon was at stake: ''The target is the north and its people and what affects the army affects all of the north, both Muslims and Christians. It is a blow against the army who are protecting us," said Ahmad Abdel Wahab, standing near the site of bombing.
    Tripoli has endured deadly sectarian fighting linked to Lebanon's broader political troubles in recent months, but tension has eased since rival Alawite and Sunni leaders in the city signed a September 8 reconciliation deal.
    Lebanon's main Alawite group has close links to Syria, whose president is himself an Alawite. The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
    Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that the Tripoli bombing aimed to undermine efforts at broader reconciliation between rival Lebanese leaders who had been locked in a paralysing political struggle until May.
    ''I don't know if there are enough words to condemn or to describe how horrible this crime is which has targeted our army and the north. This should only lead the country to be more united and in agreement and to have stability and coexist,'' said MP Ali Bazzi, a member of Berri's Amal bloc.
    The 18-month conflict had pushed Lebanon to the brink of civil war before Qatar mediated a deal which led to the election of a new president and formation of a national unity government.
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