Car-Bomb Blast in Christian East Beirut During Rush Hour Kills 20, Wounds 100

The seventh car bombing in recent weeks Thursday left 20 people dead and at least 100 injured. Seven of the victims burned to death inside their cars when a Mercedes-Benz packed with TNT exploded in a busy shopping area of Christian East Beirut during the morning rush hour.

The fiery explosion demolished 45 houses, devastated 30 shops in the Dora shopping area and blanketed the street with dirt, stones, broken windows and doors. Witnesses said the blast tore whole balconies from apartment houses and hurled them through the air. It left a hole in the pavement nine feet wide and nearly five deep.

Rescuers used mobile metal ladders to evacuate trapped tenants from the upper floors of wrecked buildings. The street was awash with water from fire hoses.

Abu Khaled, 53, pleaded with Red Cross volunteers to reveal what happened to his brother Shahin and 20-year-old nephew Ziad, who owned a car repair shop on the ground floor of the Gemayel building.

‘They Are Gone’

A friend came forward, hugged him and said: “They are gone. I am sorry, but they are gone.”

The blue Mercedes exploded at the entrance to a seven-story apartment building owned by President Amin Gemayel’s family, about 100 yards from St. Joseph Hospital. No members of the president’s family lived in the building.

The Christian-controlled radio station Voice of Lebanon quoted witnesses it did not identify as saying they saw a driver in the car moments before it exploded and that they thought the driver was killed.

Police said they could not confirm the report and had not determined whether the bomb was detonated on the spot or by remote control.

Sgt. Maj. Youssef Bitar, an army explosives expert, said the car was packed with more than 240 pounds of explosives.

97 Dead Since July 28

Explosions in the Christian East and in Muslim West Beirut have left 97 people dead and 400 wounded since July 28.

Christian spokesmen have claimed that Syria’s secret service arranged the car bombings as part of a drive to oust Gemayel, a Maronite Catholic. Syria denies the accusations and blames the explosions on Christians it says are affiliated with the Israeli secret service.

Gunmen of the Christian Lebanese Forces and the Falangist Party sealed off the blast area Thursday while rescuers used bulldozers and shovels to reach the dead and wounded. Hours after the blast, the rescuers were still pulling mutilated and charred bodies from beneath the debris.

Meeting Interrupted

The blast interrupted a meeting between the rival Christian Falangist Party and Lebanese Forces commands. Later, the leaders decided that all armed elements should be withdrawn from East Beirut streets after weekend clashes that killed 10 people.

However, the Christian Voice of Lebanon radio station reported a brief outbreak of fighting involving some militiamen who refused to obey orders.

Officials initially speculated that the car bomb was aimed at St. Joseph’s Hospital, where Fouad abu Nader, Gemayel’s nephew who led a daylong Christian militia revolt, was recuperating from an assassination attempt. However, they later said the blast was too far away to affect Abu Nader or the hospital.