At Least 14 Killed in Tripoli Blast including 9 soldiers

  Source: Al-Manar TV, 13-8-2008
An explosion went off Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. on Al-Masaref Street in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli targeting a bus carrying civilians and soldiers. Fourteen people were killed in the explosion, including nine Lebanese army soldiers and a baby, and forty others were injured, a security official said giving the latest toll.
Wednesday morning's explosion follows a gun battle that occurred at night between the Al-Mankoubine quarter of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli. The incident sparked fears of the renewal of clashes between the two areas.
The bus was five meters away from the bomb when it exploded, leaving a 30 centimeter crater in the ground. The Lebanese army has cordoned off the area and is investigating the incident.
Preliminary reports said that a bag carrying the bomb was placed in the bus station where civilians and army soldiers usually take their busses to Beirut and elsewhere. Most of the casualties are soldiers and according to witnesses, the blast shook the northern capital and caused extensive damage in nearby buildings. Body parts were seen on rooftops of buildings.
Experts estimated that the bomb weighed 1500 grams and was detonated by remote control. According to experts, the perpetrators added nails and other metal materials to the bomb to cause as much casualties as possible. The martyrs and the injured were taken to four hospitals around the scene of the carnage.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud visited Tripoli's government building on Wednesday and told a press conference that the investigation into the morning's bombing is being dealt with very seriously. "We are doing our best to make the Lebanese peoples' lives more secure," he said. Baroud said that the explosion was a terrorist act that involves all the Lebanese without any exceptions.
"I have not been to the crime scene so as to respect theinvestigators' job and preserve evidence," Baroud said.
Baroud confirmed full cooperation between the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces, which he said will help the investigation reach the best results. "I will not talk about evidence or speculations. When we have the results of the investigation, we will reveal them to the public," Baroud said.
Arab League Amr Mussa said it was "aimed at complicating the security and political situation in Lebanon and hampering the launch of the new government."
LEBANON CONDEMNS TRIPOLI CRIME
A statement by the Lebanese army command said the bomb attack was a "terrorist act" targeted directly at the military institution and peaceful coexistence in Lebanon. "Terrorists exploited clearly the intense political rivalry which increased lately undermining the sacrifices of the military institution and its role in preserving stability, unity and coexistence," the communiqué said.
Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman condemned the crime and confirmed that the Lebanese army and security forces would not surrender to any "criminal acts." Suleiman called for the intensification of investigations into the criminals as a crucial step to stopping them from "reaching further ends."
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the president offered condolences to the families of martyrs and sent wishes for the speedy recovery to the injured. Suleiman renewed his call for honesty and reconciliation as prerogatives for unity and national resistance against terrorism that only "benefits "Israel"."
For his part, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri described the Tripoli explosion as a terrorist attack that used Lebanon as its target. He called for "solidarity and alertness" and noted that this is an attempt to create confusion in the country. He said that "Lebanon's security will always be targeted by criminals".
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora described Tripoli's explosion as "a message that criminals want the security situation in Lebanon to remain unstable." Speaking during a ceremony held in honor of students who have excelled in the official exams Saniora addressed the criminals and all Lebanese saying that "the most effective weapon is our unity as Lebanese and our resistance to the enemies of Lebanon.
Hizbullah issued a statement vehemently condemning the attack which. "This crime targets the military institution which we ought to preserve as its role is to assure domestic peace and stability in the country," the statement said. Hizbullah's statement called for investigating the crime and punishing the criminals. "We offer our condolences to the families of those killed and to the Lebanese army and we ask God for the speedy recovery of the injured", the statement concluded.
Moreover, the head of the Change and Reform Parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun said that "there were not enough preventative measures to stop the criminals". "It is normal to condemn the explosion, but what it is the use after the victims were killed?" he wondered.
"I hope that the government will start implementing a program to stop armed factions who are loose on the streets. Some want the security situation to explode, but it will not, because the Lebanese do not want to fight," Aoun said.
The Lebanese National News Agency listed the names of some of the martyrs: Mohammad Abu Bakr, Mohammad al-Omari, Habib Batch, Abdul Rahman Zoreiqa, Omar Khodor Aicha, Mohammad Mustafa Merhi, Mohammad Khodor, Mohammad al-Dehaybe, Ziad Abdul Karim, Fawaz Khalaf and Hussein al-Zughbi.
For his part, the head of the Future Parliamentary bloc MP Saad Hariri said that ‘everyone must consider this incident as part of the series of criminal acts that have previously occurred.'
‘Those who committed this crime are cowards, and they will pay the price for their actions,' he added.