two buses traveling on a highway Tuesday, February 13, near the Christian mountain town of Bikfaya northeast of Beirut, Lebanese officials said.
Initial reports said 12 people had died. The explosions came at a time of increased sectarian tensions in Lebanon, and one day before the second anniversary of the slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A mass rally had been planned for Wednesday, February 14, in downtown Beirut to mark the second anniversary of the slaying.
Security officials told reporters that the bombs were shaped like bananas and weighed at least 4 pounds and as much as 7 pounds. They were packed with metal pellets and placed under seats in the two buses, officials said.
Television footage showed at least one destroyed bus and ambulances carrying away people.
Eyewitnesses saw blood in several places near the bus wreckage. Some passengers were reportedly blown apart and body parts were strewn near the buses, which were about 50 meters (yards) apart.
When the first bomb exploded, the driver of the second bus stopped and got out. His own bus
then exploded, Reuters news agency quoted unidentified security sources as saying. The 9:15 am blastd occurred on a road in the village of Ein Alaq, just south of the town of Bikfaya in the province of northern Metn, some 12 miles (19 kilometers) northeast of the Lebanese capital, the Lebanese news agency said.
ANCESTRAL HOME
Bikfaya is the ancestral home of the Gemayel family, a prominent political Christian family in Lebanon. Pierre Gemayel, a Cabinet member, was assassinated last November.
His father, former president Amin Gemayel who is a Christian, reportedly told the Voice of Lebanon radio station that "alien hands," were behind the explosions. "Lebanese do not kill Lebanese," he said.
Gemayel did not mention Syria by name, but there have been tensions with that country after its forces occupied Lebanon for years. Several top Lebanese politicians accuse Syria and its Lebanese allies of being behind the explosions.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said the explosions were aimed to deepen the divide between the pro-American government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, made up of Hariri’s allies, and the opposition, led by Hezbollah, the Shiite guerrilla group backed by Iran and Syria.
HEAVY THUNDERSTORM
The blasts came during a thunderstorm and ambulances, their sirens wailing, sped up the mountain road in heavy rain. Troops in military uniforms and army buses also were at the scene. Appeals for urgent blood donations were broadcast as injured people were rushed hospitals.
Red Cross operations chief George Ketanneh told the Voice of Lebanon station that so far his team had counted only three dead in two hospitals. He added that many of the wounded were in serious condition.
It was expected to raise concerns over the increasingly volatile situation in Lebanon amid fears of a new civil war between Christian and Muslim-backed groups. Former President Gemayel already visited the White House and met with President George W. Bush last week to discuss the issue. (With reports from Lebanon).
