Car Bomb In Lebanon Kills 5 Lebanese Soldiers

Lebanon was rocked again today by terror as a military bus was targeted by a car bombing near the northern city of Tripoli - five Lebanese soldiers were killed in the blast. There is no question in my mind that this was the world of Fatah al Islam which is the al Qaeda linked group that vowed revenge against the government and its military after they were squashed in operations in northern Lebanon. Fatah al Islam is a Sunni group and of course, the landscape of Lebanon is dominated by Shia Hezbollah. Here's some of the details from the article on the bombing from Breitbart:

Five Lebanese soldiers were killed on Monday in a car bomb blast targeting an army bus on the outskirts of the restive northern city of Tripoli, security and military officials said.
A security official told AFP that another 24 people, 18 of them soldiers, were wounded in the explosion, the second deadly bombing targeting the Lebanese army in two months.
"Once again a treacherous hand has reached out to strike at the military establishment in a terrorist attack clearly aimed at undermining efforts at peace and stability," a statement by the army command said.
The bomb, placed under a parked car at the southern entrance to the city, was packed with nuts and bolts and police suspect the device was detonated by remote control.

The army last year fought a 15-week battle with the Al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al-Islam militia in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli that left 400 people dead, including 168 soldiers.
The head of Fatah al-Islam, Shaker al-Abssi, earlier this year vowed revenge attacks against the army.

The Lebanese have tried to sweep Fatah al Islam under the rug ever since last year but as we can see, they aren't going away and they certainly haven't given up their vow of revenge. I would have to say that this bombing is going to probably force the government into a huge crackdown in the nothern areas and if that happens, it could really get bloody - and not just with Fatah al Islam ... everytime a crackdown happens, other groups feel threatened and it turns into some form of chaos with the Druze, Christians and Shias involved as well.

Five Lebanese soldiers killed in car bomb blast

Five Lebanese soldiers were killed on Monday in a car bomb blast targeting an army bus on the outskirts of the restive northern city of Tripoli, security and military officials said.
A security official told AFP that another 24 people, 18 of them soldiers, were wounded in the explosion, the second deadly bombing targeting the Lebanese army in two months.
"Once again a treacherous hand has reached out to strike at the military establishment in a terrorist attack clearly aimed at undermining efforts at peace and stability," a statement by the army command said.
The bomb, placed under a parked car at the southern entrance to the city, was packed with nuts and bolts and police suspect the device was detonated by remote control.
It blew up as the bus headed towards the capital Beirut during morning rush-hour. There were about 24 soldiers on board, most of them from the village of Akroum, located about 50 kilometers north of Tripoli near the Syrian border.
The owner of the booby-trapped vehicle was detained for questioning, a security official said.
Police and the army cordoned off the area as forensic experts began gathering evidence while residents rushed to the scene or to nearby hospitals to look for their loved ones.
One man in his 50s wept and appealed for news about his son who he said was on board the bus.
Ali Al-Khatib said his 37-year-old cousin Anwar Jasim Al-Khatib, a father of two, was among the soldiers killed.
"He spent the weekend with his wife and children buying clothes for the Muslim Eid and was supposed to come back for the holiday tonight," Al-Khatib said, as he stood outside Tripoli's Nini hospital.
The force of the blast shattered windows and damaged cars nearby. The Renault vehicle under which the bomb was placed was left a burned-out pile of twisted metal.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
A similar explosion in August left 14 people dead, nine of them soldiers, in the deadliest attack in Lebanon in three years.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri said Monday's blast was aimed at scuttling measures toward reconciliation by the country's rival pro- and anti-Syrian factions. He also denounced the fact that the blast took place as Muslims prepared to celebrate this week the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Several officials said they suspect the attack was aimed at undercutting the army's bid to secure Tripoli, which has has been rocked by deadly sectarian violence in recent months.
Tensions had eased in the past few weeks after Lebanon's rival factions signed a reconciliation accord aimed at putting the lid on a political crisis that took the country to the brink of a new civil war earlier this year.
"This attack targets the army's morale and seeks to rattle relations between the military and the residents of Tripoli... following the expanded deployment of troops," Tripoli MP Moustapha Alloush told AFP.
The army last year fought a 15-week battle with the Al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al-Islam militia in a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli that left 400 people dead, including 168 soldiers.
The head of Fatah al-Islam, Shaker al-Abssi, earlier this year vowed revenge attacks against the army.
In June and July, 23 people were killed in battles between Sunni Muslim supporters of the government and their Damascus-backed rivals from the Alawite community in Tripoli.