Car bomb kills Lebanon's former PM

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a billionaire businessman-turned-politician who led Lebanon for 10 years and spearheaded the rebuilding of Beirut, was killed Monday in a massive bombing that destroyed his armored motorcade.

Hariri, who had been Lebanon's most dominant political figure since its civil war ended in 1990, resigned in October to protest Syrian involvement in Lebanon. His killing comes at a critical time for Syria, which has controlled Lebanon for 15 years and maintains thousands of troops here. The Syrian regime is under pressure from the United States and the United Nations to end its political and military dominance over its smaller neighbor.

At least nine other people were killed and more than 100 injured in the explosion, which damaged several hotels and buildings along Beirut's Mediterranean waterfront. The bombing left a scene of devastation reminiscent of Lebanon's 15-year civil war: Bloodied victims walked around in a daze, burning cars sent plumes of black smoke into the sky, broken glass and twisted metal lined the street, and rescue workers sifted through the rubble. Throughout the day, ambulances and fire trucks crisscrossed the city with wailing sirens.

Lebanese opposition leaders quickly blamed the assassination on Syria and its allies in the Lebanese government, but officials in Damascus denied any involvement. The only claim of responsibility came from a previously unknown Islamic militant group calling itself the "Victory and Holy War Organization in the Levant."

The group, which took responsibility in a videotape broadcast on the Al-Jazeera satellite station, said it was retaliating for the recent killings and arrests of Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia. A young, bearded man wearing a white turban read a statement on the tape, saying he would be carrying out a suicide attack against Hariri, whom he called an "agent of the tyrannical Saudi regime."

Hariri, 60, amassed his fortune in Saudi Arabia, where he lived for nearly 20 years and handled major construction projects for the ruling House of Saud. He held both Lebanese and Saudi citizenship. In 2003, Forbes magazine estimated his worth at $3.8 billion.

If Hariri was killed by a militant group, it would mark a dramatic shift for Islamists who are trying to topple the Saudi regime. So far, offshoots of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network have not targeted Saudi supporters and economic interests outside the kingdom.

Last night, Lebanese security officials said they raided an apartment in Beirut that belonged to the man on the tape, identified as Ahmed Abu Adas, 22, a Palestinian born in Lebanon to refugee parents. Officials did not find Abu Adas, but they confiscated computers, tapes and documents.

In Washington, the Bush administration condemned the assassination and once again urged Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. "This murder today is a terrible reminder that the Lebanese people must be able to pursue their aspirations ... free from Syrian occupation," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Syrian President Bashar Assad "condemned this horrific, criminal act," according to the Syrian government's news agency. In an apparent reference to the anti-Syrian opposition, Assad urged Lebanese to reject "those who seek to sow divisions among the people during a critical situation."

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a longtime political rival of Hariri's, called the assassination "a dark point in our national history."

Hariri was preparing to lead an opposition slate in parliamentary elections planned for April and May. With his vast wealth and popularity, he was considered a formidable opponent to Syrian-backed candidates.

At a hastily convened meeting in Hariri's Beirut home, Lebanese opposition leaders demanded that the government resign and Syria withdraw its troops immediately. They also called for a three-day general strike starting today.

Because of his personal ties with European and Arab leaders, Hariri had brought the Lebanese government a measure of international legitimacy. He also launched an ambitious rebuilding program after the civil war. But years of mismanagement, corruption and political squabbling derailed hopes for an economic recovery and left Lebanon with $33 billion in debt. Hariri-owned companies dominated much of Beirut's reconstruction, leading critics to charge that Hariri was growing even richer from his public office.

Hariri's assassination could rekindle the type of sectarian conflict in Lebanon that led to civil war, which pitted Christian militias and the Lebanese army against Palestinian groups and militias from the country's Muslim majority. Throughout the war -- in which about 150,000 people were killed -- Syria, Iran, Libya, Israel and other regional powers provided arms and money to different militias.

The war ended when the factions agreed to a 1989 peace deal, which redistributed power among the country's Maronite Christian president, Sunni Muslim prime minister and Shia Muslim speaker of parliament.

Hariri was first named prime minister in 1992 and remained in the post until 1998, when the Syrian-backed Lahoud became president. Hariri became prime minister again in 2000 and served until October. He had a major falling out then with the Syrian regime because it pressured the Lebanese parliament to extend Lahoud's six-year term by three years.