A
senior Lebanese intelligence official was among at least eight people killed in
a massive car bomb attack in central Beirut, state media say.
Wissam al-Hassan was said to be close
to opposition leader Saad Hariri, a leading critic of the government in
neighbouring Syria.
No group has claimed Friday's attack,
which was condemned by Damascus. Dozens of people were injured, reports the
BBC.
Tensions in Lebanon have been rising
as a result of the Syrian conflict.
Lebanon's religious communities are
divided between those who support the government of Syrian President Bashar-al
Assad - notably the Shia - and those, such as many Sunnis, who back the rebels.
Friday's attack was the deadliest in
Beirut since 2008.
It occurred in the mainly Christian
district of Ashrafiya, in a busy street close to the headquarters of the
Hariri's 14 March coalition.
Saad Hariri is the son of ex-PM Rafik
Hariri, a Sunni who was assassinated in a 2005 bomb attack which many Lebanese
blamed on Syria.
Some 14 March politicians have accused
the Syrian government of being behind the bombing.
However Syrian Information Minister
Omran al-Zoubi called it a "cowardly terrorist act".
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati
said the government was trying to identify the perpetrators and said they would
be punished.
The blast, which was heard several
kilometres away, set many cars ablaze and destroyed the facades of nearby
buildings.
Ronnie Chatah, who lives nearby, told
the BBC: "The building shook and it echoed throughout the
neighbourhood."
Hospitals across the city have
reported large numbers of wounded, and called for people to donate blood.
Reports say Sunni Muslims
took to the streets and burned tyres in many parts of Lebanon in protest
against the attack
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