Blast Injures Lebanon’s Defense Minister

Lebanon’s outgoing defense minister, Elias Murr, was injured when an explosion cut through his motorcade Tuesday, killing two people.

Security sources said the blast occurred in the area of Antelias east of Beirut, apparently set off by the detonation of a bomb concealed in a parked car.

Two people were killed and 12 injured in addition to Murr, who suffered light injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Murr, the son-in-law of President Emile Lahoud, jumped out of his car after the explosion and sought help from a passing driver, who took him to the hospital.

Security sources said the wife of the Mexican ambassador in Lebanon, Arturo Boneti Ortega, was also injured in the blast, which took place near the ambassador’s residence.

The blast is the third to target political figures in Lebanon since June 2, when a car bomb killed Samir Kassir, an outspoken anti-Syria journalist. A second explosion killed the former chief of the Lebanese Communist Party, George Hawi, two weeks later.

Syria condemned the blast, which targeted one of its allies in Lebanon, the Syrian News Agency reported.

The agency quoted a Syrian official as saying, The terrorist act is yet another incident in the series of explosions and assassinations which are aimed first at destabilizing Lebanon and weakening its national unity.