East Beirut Car Bomb Kills 27, Wounds 100 : Blast in Christian Neighborhood Appears Aimed at Office of President Gemayel’s Falangist Party

BEIRUT —  At least 27 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Tuesday when a car bomb exploded in a Christian neighborhood of East Beirut.

The explosion set fire to a seven-story office building, blew in the fronts of dozens of shops on the busy commercial street and crushed 20 cars like toys.

A police bomb expert said the Mercedes-Benz 250 that was used in the explosion contained about 550 pounds of plastic explosive. The car was also filled with cans of gasoline and cylinders of oxygen to create a fireball after the initial blast.

No group claimed responsibility for setting the bomb, but officials said it appeared to be aimed at a local office of President Amin Gemayel’s Falangist Party. The office, in a second-floor apartment, is next to the building where the car bomb went off. The neighborhood is also home to Elie Karameh, the Falangist Party leader.

At least half of those killed were trapped in burning cars after the bomb went off. Most of the injured were hit by flying glass, which covered the street for blocks in the neighborhood, a prosperous Christian enclave known as Furn el Chebbak.

The explosion dug a neat, car-shaped crater six feet deep in front of the office building.

“I was standing in my shop helping a customer,” said one shopkeeper. “The next thing, I heard this explosion, and I was in the back room lying down.”

It appeared likely that the bombing was another consequence of last week’s bloody uprising against Elie Hobeika, who headed the principal Christian militia, the Lebanese Forces.

Between 300 and 450 people were killed last week in clashes between Hobeika’s followers and partisans of Samir Geagea, the Lebanese Forces chief of staff, who teamed up with militiamen loyal to Gemayel to oust Hobeika.

The 28-year-old Hobeika fled to Paris but is reported to be on his way to Damascus, Syria.

The uprising in the Christian community deeply angered Syria, which had painstakingly negotiated a peace settlement for Lebanon. A peace pact was signed Dec. 28 by Hobeika and the leaders of the two primary Muslim militias, but last week’s rebellion appears to have left the agreement in tatters.

There have been signs that the upheavals in the Christian community are not over.

No ‘Military Duality’

On Sunday, Geagea was quoted as having said that he will not permit “military duality” in the Christian heartland. His remarks were taken as a challenge to Falangist Party militiamen and even to the Christian elements of the Lebanese army.

Muslim leaders have called for a complete boycott of the Lebanese government in an apparent effort to topple Gemayel. The boycott idea was apparently decided on during talks with Syrian leaders over the weekend.

Syria is reported to have replaced some of its regular troops near Christian areas with elite units. Syria has about 30,000 troops in the country.

A Christian military officer was quoted by the Associated Press on Monday as saying that Christian forces have killed 12 Syrian soldiers during clashes in the last few days near Bikfaya, Gemayel’s hometown, in the mountains northeast of Beirut.