A Lebanese soldier secures the site where bomb blasts tore through two buses in the village of Ain Alak, northeast of Beirut (AFP)
BEIRUT, Lebanon, (AP) -Bombs tore through two commuter buses traveling a regularly scheduled route in a coordinated attack Tuesday in a mainly Christian area of the country. At least three people were killed and 20 wounded, the state-run news agency said.
The official agency and some police officials originally put the number of dead as high as 12. But the state-run agency, quoting officials, later dropped the death count in line with the count provided by the Red Cross.
The explosions come at a time of increased sectarian tensions in Lebanon, and one day before the second anniversary of the slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A mass rally had been planned for Wednesday in downtown Beirut to mark the anniversary.
A senior politician speculated that the blasts were meant to scare people away from the rally. There were no plans to cancel the demonstration, organizers said.
A Lebanese soldier secures the site where bomb blasts tore through two buses in the village of Ain Alak(AFP)
A man helps a wounded woman following two bomb blasts near the Christian mountain town of Bikfaya north of Beirut February (R)