The Anti-Terror Investigator Is Killed by His Terrorist Enemies

The Anti-Terror Investigator Is Killed by His Terrorist Enemies

Lebanon's top anti-terrorism investigator was slain along with three other people in a powerful car bombing that ripped through a neighbourhood of Beirut on Friday, officials said.
Captain Wissam Eid, 31, a member of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), and his bodyguard were killed along with two civilians, a security official told AFP. He said 38 other people were wounded, with nine taken to hospital.
"Eid was a key member of the ISF and was involved in many investigations related to terrorist bombings in Lebanon in recent years," the official said. "He was involved in sensitive probes and this is a major loss for us."
The official added that Eid had in February 2006 narrowly escaped another attempt on his life when someone threw a grenade in front of his Beirut home.
Another official from the ruling majority said Eid was on his way back from a meeting of the UN commission investigating the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri when he was killed.
Hariri's death in a massive car bomb and a number of similar attacks over the past three years have been blamed by the Western-backed parliamentary majority on neighbouring Syria, which has denied involvement.
Brigadier General Ashraf Rifi, head of the ISF, said the car bomb was yet another attempt at destabilizing the country as it grapples with its worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
"This is a message to the Internal Security Forces following the message sent to the army in December when General Francois el-Hajj was killed in a car bomb" last month, Rifi told reporters at the site of the blast.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora declared a national day of mourning on Saturday when Eid and his bodyguard are to be buried.
Friday's explosion took place shortly after 10 am (0800 GMT) near a highway overpass in Hazmiyeh, a mainly Christian district in eastern Beirut and an area that houses a number of office buildings.
Local residents and office workers, some screaming and others in shock, could be seen running amongst blazing vehicles searching for friends and loved ones.
"It was an apocalyptic vision," said Ghandour Mashlab, a real estate agent who was at the site.
The security official estimated that the bomb, which blasted a five-metre (16-foot) wide crater into the road, consisted of at least 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of TNT.
A senior member of the anti-Syrian majority pointed the finger at Damascus.
"This bombing is proof that the (Syrian) mukhabarat (intelligence) have infiltrated Lebanese security services,' the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
Syria, however, condemned the killing and blamed "Lebanon's enemies".
The bombing was also widely denounced by the international community and Arab states.
"Lebanon has too long suffered from foreign interference," said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a clear allusion to Syria, complaining about the "violent pattern and intimidation" of the Beirut bombing.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the latest attack "should not be allowed to undermine the security, stability and sovereignty of Lebanon".
"We strongly condemn the terrorist bombing in Beirut today that killed a police captain and many other Lebanese," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Britain's Foreign Office said it should not be allowed to derail the probe into the string of killings in Lebanon.
In Riyadh, Saudi King Abdullah called for unity to foil "the schemes of those who do not wish well for Lebanon" while Arab League chief Amr Mussa warned that the latest attack could "affect the unity of Lebanon."
The country is "sliding toward the abyss because of the failure to reach a compromise" on electing a new president, said Mussa, whose organisation has been trying to convince feuding MPs to agree on a plan to break the deadlock.
Russia expressed "deep concern" after the latest deadly bombing, saying it showed there was a political "vacuum" in Lebanon.
Lebanon has been without a president since pro-Syrian head of state Emile Lahoud stepped down on November 23 with no elected successor because of a standoff between the majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition.
In February 2005, five-time prime minister Hariri was killed by a huge bomb on the Beirut seafront. The backlash against his killing resulted in Syria withdrawing its forces from its small neighbour after nearly 30 years.
Later on Friday, a security official said a large cache of weapons was found in the southern coastal city of Sidon.