US embassy denounces Lebanon bomb attack
BEIRUT (AFP) — The US embassy in Beirut on Friday condemned the car bombing that killed a senior Lebanese intelligence officer and said that the attack was yet another attempt to destabalize the country.
"This crime is yet another direct and hideous attack against Lebanon's state institutions," the embassy said in a statement. "This attack is the latest in a series over the last three years targeting those who are working to protect the Lebanese and secure Lebanon's independence and sovereignty.
"The United States, like Lebanon's other international friends, remains firmly committed to supporting Lebanon's legitimate institutions, its democracy and independence."
Friday's attack killed Captain Wissam Eid, his bodyguard and two others. It also wounded 36 people, according to a security official.
It came 10 days after a similar attack targeted a vehicle from the US embassy. No one in the US car was killed but three other people who were driving in the area died.
That bombing was the first such attack against US interests in Lebanon since the mid-1980s and came during a visit to the Middle East by US President George W. Bush.
Lebanon is grappling with its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
The country has been without a president since pro-Syrian head of state Emile Lahoud stepped down on November 23 with no elected successor amid a standoff between the Western-backed majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition.
It has also been the scene of numerous bomb attacks in the past three years, targeting mainly anti-Syrian personalities and drawing accusations of Syrian involvement. Damascus has vehemently denied any role.
Localização do Líbano.
Funcionários libaneses disseram que um carro bomba explodiu em um bairro cristão da capital Beirute, e que já matou pelo menos seis pessoas, incluindo um alto funcionário investigador da polícia libanesa. O bombardeio foi criticado pela embaixada Americana no Líbano.

As ambulâncias da Cruz Vermelha evacuaram, pelo menos, uma dezena de feridos, depois de uma poderosa explosão que atravessou uma linha de carros estacionados, perto de uma importante rodovia.