BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 2 (UPI) -- A staunch anti-Syrian Lebanese journalist was killed in an explosion that ripped through his car in an east Beirut suburb Thursday, police said.
Samir Kassir, a columnist for Beirut's leading daily An Nahar, was killed on the spot when a bomb concealed in his car went off as he turned the ignition outside his home in the Christian neighborhood of Ashrafieh.
Police said a woman was with Kassir in his car and was seriously wounded.
The incident sparked a wave of condemnation by Lebanese officials, who mainly pointed accusing fingers at Syria and its intelligence agents. Many agents are apparently still active in Lebanon despite their purported withdrawal last April along with Syrian troops.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who inspected the scene of the crime, said, "Security and freedom of the press were the targets in this killing, but we will not allow anyone to take us backward."
MP-elect Jibran Tueni, owner and editor-in-chief of An Nahar, bluntly accused Syria of the crime, holding the Syrian regime and Syrian President Bashar Assad responsible for the violence and for seeking to undermine Lebanese security and freedoms.
