Ex-Lebanese PM Hariri killed in Beirut motorcade blast
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, and Agencies
Former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was killed Monday when a massive explosion targeted his motorcade as it traveled through Beirut.
Initial reports suggested that he had been wounded in the blast. His death was later confirmed by the Al-Mustaqbal television station, which Hariri owned.
At least nine people were killed in the blast along the city's famed seafront boulevard. Those killed included at least one of his bodyguards, witnesses said.
The front of the famous St. George Hotel was devastated in the blast, with several balconies blown off. Along the famed Mediterranean corniche, at least 20 cars were in flames or destroyed, and the fronts of several other bulidings were heavily damaged, including a British bank and the landmark Phoenicia Hotel.
Explosions in Beirut - while common during the 1975-90 civil war - have become rare since the conflict ended.
However, in October, amid rising tensions between the government and opposition groups, a car bomb seriously injured an opposition politician and killed his driver in Beirut.
Hariri, a self-made billionaire, led Lebanon for most of the period since the 1975-1990 civil war ended. Since leaving office in October, he was considered to be in opposition, and has been in a rivalry with pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud for years.
Witnesses at the scene confirmed that Hariri's motorcade had just passed the area shortly before the bomb went off.
TV footage showed dramatic scenes of one burning man struggling to get out of a car window, then falling on the ground. He was helped by a bystander who used his jacket to put out the flames, but it was not clear if he survived.
Several young women were seen with blood running down their faces. Some had to be helped from the scene.
Heavily armed security forces cordoned off the area with yellow tape as rescue workers and investigators combed the scene apparently looking for casualties or clues to what caused the huge explosion.
The explosion near the city's waterfront shortly before noon (1000GMT) shook buildings in the city center and was heard in outlying hills overlooking the Lebanese capital.
Rubble and twisted debris covered a road lined with burning cars, the smoke from which enveloping the area as firefighters carrying houses raced to douse flames.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/540148.html
Zware autobom in het centrum van Beiroet -
14 februari 2005, 13:29
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