3 Beirut Banks Bombed; Cabinet Silent on Strife

Four bombs exploded outside three banks in Muslim West Beirut on Saturday, wounding at least four civilians and causing extensive damage. Shortly afterward, Lebanon’s Cabinet met to discuss the country’s continued violence and instability and its weakened economy.

The bombs went off within an hour outside three banks--the Lebanese-owned Saradar Bank, Capital Trust Bank and the Universal Bank. They are among five under investigation by the public prosecutor on “matters relating to currency speculation eroding the Lebanese pound,” a Beirut newspaper, As Safir, reported Saturday.

In a letter to a Western news agency in Beirut, the mysterious terrorist group Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), claimed responsibility for the bombings, saying it is issuing “a new warning to the state and all banks and businessmen” who might engage in currency speculation.

Authenticity Doubted

However, security sources doubted that the letter was genuine because it did not open and close with a phrase usually used by the allegedly pro-Iranian group, which says it holds five American captives. Islamic Jihad has also taken responsibility for lethal attacks on American and French installations in Lebanon.

At the presidential palace, Premier Rashid Karami--speaking af ter an eight-hour Cabinet meeting--did not announce any fresh initiative to improve Lebanon’s economy or security situation.

The Lebanese pound continued to slide Saturday, hitting a record low of 14 to the U.S. dollar before closing at 13.30. Bankers say the monthlong economic decline has been the worst since Lebanon’s independence from France in 1943.

“It serves them right,” said an onlooker outside the Saradar Bank, reflecting widespread public anger at the collapse of the pound, once one of the most stable Middle Eastern currencies.

“They are playing the dollar market and killing the Lebanese pound. God bless whoever (planted) the bomb.”