snapped shot

ABU KAIS will have details shortly. I'm tracking the photos as well, and will post them when I can catch up.

UPDATE: Video here soon now.

Update: The plot thickens:

Antoine Ghanem

The assassination comes 6 days before a scheduled parliament session to elect a president. The pro-Syrian and Hizbullah-led coalition threatened to boycott the session if March 14 used a majority vote to elect a president. Many in March 14 expected political assassinations to precede the election and reduce the parliament's majority. The Assad regime opposes a president from March 14, and insists on a pro-Syrian president to safeguard its interests and the interests of its allies in the country, including Hizbullah. The Assad regime also wants a president to "open a dialogue; on recent UNSC resolutions calling on Syria to respect Lebanese sovereignty and establishing a tribunal to try those responsible for the Hariri assassination and other political crimes in the country.
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Antoine Ghanem was reportedly a moderate well liked by MPs from both sides of the divide. With his murder, March 14 lost another vote, and may not feel safe anymore to stay in the country, let alone head to parliament on September 25th to elect a president. Many March 14 MPs are outside the country. As for the Assad regime, it has just reconfirmed to the world, especially to the French, that it does not care about dialogue or open relations with the west.

Update: More here, here, and here.

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Abu Kais is reporting that another bomb has exploded in Beirut, this time onboard a bus outside of an abandoned building. No word on the damage or casualties yet - I'll be following up when I learn more.

Update: According to LBC, 7 were injured, none are reported dead. Still waiting on details.

Update: Sometimes, you have to hit faraway sources to get the news. I still haven't seen word one about this bombing on CNN, nor on the front pages of Google or Yahoo news.

But in the evening a bomb ripped through a public bus in Christian east Beirut wounding at least seven of the people on board, a security source said.

The explosion in the mixed residential and industrial district of Sed al-Baushrieh was the fourth to rock Lebanon since the clashes between the army and the Islamists broke out on May 20.

Footage broadcast by Lebanese television showed that the bus had been burned out by the force of the explosion.

Several parked cars and the facade of a nearby shopping centre were also badly damaged.

AFP's on the story, at least. Still waiting for the photo wires to catch up.

Update: Photos are starting to come in. I'll be posting them shortly.



Update (5-Jun): The latest pictures have been added from the wire. Continue reading »

There appear to be reports that a bomb has been set off outside of a shopping mall in a northern suburb of Beirut early on Sunday morning (Lebanon time). It's odd that the blast went off so late—considering how valuable high-casualty targets are to terrorists.



I've gathered all of the pictures available at this time in the extended body of this article, for your reference.

See-Also:

The following bloggers are covering this story in greater detail: From Beirut to the Beltway, Beirut Spring, Captain's Quarters, Hot Air

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