A car bomb tore through an army bus in northern Lebanon today, killing four soldiers and a civilian passerby in the second attack on the army in less than two months, security sources said.
Thirty-five people were also wounded in the blast in the city of Tripoli, scene of an August 13th bombing that killed 10 soldiers and five civilians at a bus stop.
The car bomb exploded during the morning rush hour in the Buhsas area at the southern entrance to Lebanon's second largest city, hurling mangled metal through the bus, damaging other vehicles and shattering windows of nearby buildings.
"Once again the hand of treachery has reached the military institution in a clear targeting of security and stability," the army said in a statement, describing the bombing as a terrorist act. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.
Last year the army crushed the al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam group at a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. At least 430 people were killed, including 170 soldiers and 220 militants, in 15 weeks of fighting that destroyed the camp.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country dominated Lebanon for three decades until 2005, warned earlier this month of a danger from what he called foreign-backed extremists in Tripoli -- a predominantly Sunni Muslim city.
Ad-Diyar newspaper said on Monday that Islamist militants posed a growing threat, especially in north Lebanon. "These elements have increased their presence," the newspaper said in a front-page story published hours before the Tripoli bombing.
Syria sent hundreds of troops to its border with north Lebanon last week in a move that fuelled speculation over Syrian motives. The Lebanese army said the deployment was to combat smuggling.
Syria's state news agency SANA said Damascus condemned the Tripoli attack, which occurred two days after a car bomb in the Syrian capital killed 17 people.
The Syrian authorities said on Monday the Damascus bombing was carried out by an Islamist suicide bomber whose vehicle had crossed into the country from a neighbouring Arab state. Syria's Arab neighbours are Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
Tripoli has endured deadly sectarian fighting linked to Lebanon's broader political troubles in recent months, but tension has eased since rival Alawite and Sunni leaders in the city signed a Sept. 8 reconciliation deal.
Lebanon's main Alawite group has close links to Syria, whose president is himself an Alawite. The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement the Tripoli bombing aimed to undermine efforts at broader reconciliation between rival Lebanese leaders who had been locked in a paralysing political struggle until May.
The 18-month conflict had pushed Lebanon to the brink of civil war before Qatar mediated a deal which led to the election of a new president and formation of a national unity government.
Reuters