Anti-Syrian MP, 7 others killed in Beirut car bomb

An anti-Syrian member of parliament was among at least seven people killed in the bomb attack

A car bomb killed an anti-Syrian lawmaker and at least seven other people in Beirut yesterday, less than a week before Lebanon's parliament was due to elect a new president. Antoine Ghanem of the Christian Phalange party was killed in a Christian district of the capital in an attack his allies blamed on Damascus. Syria condemned the killing.

Ghanem was the seventh anti-Syrian figure to be killed in Lebanon since the February 14 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. "Every two or three months we are being targeted," Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, a leading member of the governing coalition who survived an assassination attempt in 2004, told Reuters. At least 30 other people were wounded by the bomb in the commercial and residential area of Sin el-Fil.

US President George W Bush condemned the "cowardly attack" and said Washington stood in solidarity with the Lebanese people against what he called an attempt by Syria and Iran to destabilize Lebanon. Ghanem (64) was a member of the anti-Syrian governing coalition which has been locked in a power struggle since November with factions backed by Damascus, including Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah.

Damascus has consistently denied involvement
"The killer is one, the criminal is one and the butcher is one," said Saad al-Hariri, the son and political heir of the former prime minister, blaming Syria for killing Ghanem, his father and other allies. Damascus has consistently denied involvement. Ghanem's death reduced the coalition to 68 seats in the 128-seat parliament - only three more than the absolute majority of 65 seats it needs to win votes. The house had been expected to convene on September 25 to elect a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, which it must do by November 23.

"The Syrian regime is exerting its terrorist skills at the expense of the Lebanese majority," said Hamadeh. Bush said in a statement: "We will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Lebanese people, as they resist attempts by the Syrian and Iranian regimes and their allies to destabilize Lebanon and undermine its sovereignty." - Reuters