Beirut bomb targeted U.S. Embassy vehicle

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Three people were killed and 21 others wounded by a bomb targeting a U.S. Embassy patrol vehicle in Lebanon, security officials said.

A senior security source told The Lebanon Daily Star the U.S. Embassy vehicle was on a scouting mission in an industrial area to ensure the road was safe, as it was to be used later by U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.

Police said the bomb went off just after the vehicle passed Tuesday afternoon and two Lebanese embassy employees sustained minor injuries.

However, two people in a car behind the embassy vehicle and a motorcyclist were killed by the blast, the report said. The car's occupants were burned beyond recognition and couldn't immediately be identified, police said.

Two men at the scene were taken into custody by Lebanese soldiers but it wasn't clear if they were suspects or merely being questioned as witnesses, the newspaper said.