DAR AL HARB / ISLAM - LEBANON: 2 BOMBS EXPLODE, ONE ON A BUS, 9 DEAD IN A CHRISTIAN TOWN

Breaking: Nine Dead in Islamic Bombing in Lebanese Christian Town

(IsraelNN.com) Reuters New Agency reports that two explosions have hit the Lebanese Christian town of Bikfaya, northeast of Beirut.

One of the explosions was aboard a bus. Nine are reported dead.

Wednesday is the second anniversary of the assassination of anti-Syrian Lebanese PM Rafik Al-Hariri. Islamic groups in Lebanon sponsored by Syria, notably the Hizbullah, have been steadily stepping up pressure on the Western-sponsored government of Lebanon to step aside.

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***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***

LEBANON: THREE KILLED IN REVISED DEATH TOLL FOR BUS BLASTS

Beirut, 13 Feb. (AKI) - Initial reports that 12 people were killed in explosions Tuesday on two separate buses in the Lebanese mountain town of Bikfaya, were later revised with the latest death toll standing at three, according to police and health officials. Bikfaya is a traditional stronghold of Lebanon's Christian Falangist groups and the hometown of the Gemayels, the country's most prominent Christian Falangist family. Pierre Gemayel, Lebanon's then Industry Minister was assassinated on 21 November, an attack which deepened the country's political crisis. His father Amin Gemayel, a former president, is a prominent anti-Syrian poltician.

Initial reporst said that Tuesday's explosions, the causes of which are not clear although bombs are believed to have been used, occured simultaneously but some witnesses said they took place 10 minutes apart.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Breaking: Nine Dead in Islamic Bombing in Lebanese Christian Town

2) LEBANON: THREE KILLED IN REVISED DEATH TOLL FOR BUS BLASTS