Wissam al Hassan, Lebanese security official killed with 7 others in Beirut car bombing
A top Lebanese security official is among eight people killed by a car bomb in the country’s capital Beirut.
Wissam al Hassan died in the rush-hour bomb, which also wounded some 80 people fueling the concerns that Syrian violence is spreading to Lebanon.
Al Hassan’s investigations had implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri seven years ago. Al-Hassan made headlines as the key player in an investigation that lead to the arrest of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, who has been charged with transporting explosives into Lebanon with the help of the Syrian Security Chief Ali Mamlouk in an attempt to destabilize the country.
Friday’s bombing was the city’s first major car bomb attack since 2008.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the blast, in the mainly Christian east Beirut, took place only 200 yards from the headquarters of the Christian party, the Phalange.
Syrian information minister Omran al Zoabie told reporters: “We condemn this terrorist explosion and all these explosions wherever they happen. Nothing justifies them.”
Some of the witnesses/victims told various press sources:
“At first I thought it was an earthquake.”
“It shook the whole hotel for a second. I ran down and started filming on my iPhone.”
Balconies were torn off by the force of the blast, windows shattered and cars crushed by falling masonry.
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