Here we go again

[zx6rdr]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A blast rang out across Beirut on Tuesday, and a senior Lebanese security official said the explosion occurred just north of the city.
Reuters reported that a blast hit a U.S. embassy car, according Lebanon's LBC TV.
Gray smoke could be seen billowing near the Mediterranean coast, but the source of the explosion was not immediately known.
The security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, told The Associated Press there was an explosion in the predominantly Christian Dora-Karantina neighborhood. He gave no further details.
In the past three years, there has been a string of explosions in Lebanon targeting mainly anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.
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[Phantom Blooper]

Explosion in Beirut Targets US Vehicle

2008-01-15 10:15:12
By ZEINA KARAM Associated Press Writer


<!--startclickprintinclude-->BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — An explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday in northern Beirut, and there were casualties, a senior Lebanese security official said.
The explosion was heard across the Lebanese capital, and gray smoke billowed near the Mediterranean coast.
The security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, told The Associated Press the explosion was in the predominantly Christian Dora-Karantina neighborhood.
He said an American vehicle was believed to be the target. There were casualties, he said, but did not elaborate.
A Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation correspondent who happened to be in the area reported seeing the charred body of at least one person killed in the blast. The station also reported a person wounded in a car belonging to the American Embassy.
Television footage showed several damaged cars, including an SUV with tinted windows, similar to those used by U.S. diplomats. Plainclothes security agents were seen removing an automatic rifle from the SUV.
In the past three years, a series of explosions in Lebanon has targeted mainly anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.
The last car bombing on Dec. 12 in Beirut's suburb of Baabda killed Lebanese army Maj. Gen. Francois Hajj and two other people.
<!--endclickprintinclude-->
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[Phantom Blooper]

Explosion in Beirut Targets US Vehicle
2008-01-15 10:15:12
By ZEINA KARAM Associated Press Writer



BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — An explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday in northern Beirut, and there were casualties, a senior Lebanese security official said.

The explosion was heard across the Lebanese capital, and gray smoke billowed near the Mediterranean coast.

The security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, told The Associated Press the explosion was in the predominantly Christian Dora-Karantina neighborhood.

He said an American vehicle was believed to be the target. There were casualties, he said, but did not elaborate.

A Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation correspondent who happened to be in the area reported seeing the charred body of at least one person killed in the blast. The station also reported a person wounded in a car belonging to the American Embassy.

Television footage showed several damaged cars, including an SUV with tinted windows, similar to those used by U.S. diplomats. Plainclothes security agents were seen removing an automatic rifle from the SUV.

In the past three years, a series of explosions in Lebanon has targeted mainly anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.

The last car bombing on Dec. 12 in Beirut's suburb of Baabda killed Lebanese army Maj. Gen. Francois Hajj and two other people.

[Phantom Blooper]

BEIRUT, Lebanon - An explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday in northern Beirut, killing four Lebanese and injuring a local embassy employee just ahead of a farewell reception for the American ambassador, U.S. and Lebanese officials said.


In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said two embassy employees — including the driver — were in the vehicle damaged in the blast, which could be heard across the Lebanese capital and sent gray smoke billowing near the Mediterranean coast.

The driver was slightly wounded and the other staffer is fine, McCormack told reporters. He said no American diplomats or American citizens were in the car.

"My understanding is there were four Beirut residents who do not work for the embassy who were killed in the blast," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families.

A senior U.S. official, who was not authorized to release the information and spoke condition of anonymity, said no Americans injured or killed.

A senior Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules, told The Associated Press the explosion targeted the U.S. vehicle and was in the predominantly Christian Dora-Karantina neighborhood.

It came shortly before a farewell reception for departing U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, which was being held at Beirut's seaside Phoenicia Hotel.

McCormack could not offer specifics about the blast or whether the vehicle had been targeted, but said it had been hit directly "by the explosion itself."

He said agents from the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security would be working with Lebanese authorities to investigate the blast and that the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was reviewing its security.

"We are going to take a look at what implications, if any, there are for our security posture in Beirut," McCormack said.

Television footage showed several damaged cars, including an SUV with tinted windows. Plainclothes security agents were seen removing an automatic rifle from the SUV.

<!--EZCODE FONT START-->Beirut has had a long history of attacks against Americans since the turmoil of the 17-year civil war, which ended in 1990.

At least 17 Americans, including top CIA officials in the region, were killed in a 1983 suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy. Later that year, 241 American service members died in a massive truck bombing at the U.S. Marine barracks at Beirut airport.

The U.S. withdrew all diplomats from Beirut in September 1989 and did not reopen its embassy until 1991.<!--EZCODE FONT END-->
In the past three years, a series of explosions in Lebanon have targeted mainly anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.

The last car bombing on Dec. 12 in Beirut's suburb of Baabda killed Lebanese army Maj. Gen. Francois Hajj and two other people.

"Name calling and slander is it's own special sin, hurtful to bystander, victim and victimizer alike. A form of violence in it's own rite."

[thedrifter]

A list of some attacks on U.S. personnel in Lebanon
From the Associated Press
January 15, 2008
Some attacks on U.S. personnel in Lebanon:

-- Jan. 14, 2008: Explosion targets U.S. Embassy vehicle in northern Beirut, killing at least three Lebanese and wounding local embassy employee and American bystander.

-- Feb. 17, 1988: Marine Corps Lt. Col. William R. Higgins kidnapped and murdered by Iranian-backed terrorists while serving with U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

-- March 16, 1984: William Buckley, CIA station chief in Beirut, kidnapped and killed by Islamic Jihad.

-- Sept. 20, 1984: Suicide bomber attacks U.S. Embassy annex in Christian suburb of Aukar, six miles north of Beirut, killing 14 people, including two Americans. Ninety-six others wounded, including then-U.S. Ambassador Reginald Bartholomew.

-- Oct. 23, 1983: Suicide attacker rams truck loaded with explosives into U.S. Marine base near Beirut airport, killing 241 servicemen.

-- April 18, 1983: Suicide truck-bombing shreds U.S. Embassy building on Muslim West Beirut's seafront, killing 62 people, including 17 Americans. More than 100 people wounded.

-- June 16, 1978: U.S. Ambassador Francis E. Meloy Jr. and his economic counselor, Robert O. Waring, kidnapped from limousine on demarcation line dividing Beirut into Christian and Muslim sections. Their bullet-riddled bodies are later found.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008 <br />
Targeting the US Again in Beirut <br />
By Nicholas Blanford and Andrew Lee Butters/Beirut <br />
<br />
<br />
Tuesday's car bomb attack on U.S. embassy vehicle in northern Beirut was relatively...

[zx6rdr]

Fist-

:thumbup: 100% Agreed....