Two killed in south Beirut car bombing

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A bomb exploded in a car south of Beirut on Saturday, killing at least two people in the vehicle and wounding passers-by, security officials said.

The explosion occurred on Hadi Nasrallah highway in Beirut's southern suburbs during the morning rush hour, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

The explosion tore apart the parked car, killing at least two people inside the vehicle and wounding an unknown number of passers-by, they added.

The officials identified one of the two victims as Ali Hussein Saleh, the car's driver, whose body was mutilated and charred by the explosion. Saleh was apparently heading to the Iranian Embassy, where he worked as a security official.

The bomb, placed in the car's back seat, detonated after Saleh switched on the ignition and drove about 100 yards, the officials added.

The reason for the bombing, which occurred along a bustling street lined with shops, was not immediately clear.

"We were scared to death as the explosion shook our building. I scurried with my children for cover after hearing the blast," said a 35-year-old woman living in a 12-story building near the blast scene.

Beirut's southern suburbs are a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, which led a guerrilla war against Israel's 18-year occupation of a border zone in southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.

Lebanese policemen and soldiers sealed off the area and began searching for other possible booby-trapped cars. Bearded Hezbollah security agents were seen inspecting the bomb scene.

A Hezbollah spokesman declined to comment immediately on the incident, saying the group will issue a statement later.

On June 3, a bomb exploded in an ambulance belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, seriously wounding its driver.

The U.S. State Department regards Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Israel accuses the group of possessing thousands of rockets, including weapons that could strike deep into Israel.

Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, is recognized in Lebanon as a legitimate resistance group fighting Israeli occupation. It has nine elected members in Lebanon's Parliament and runs social services, including schools and clinics, in the country's Shiite areas.