Lebanon's caretaker Vice Premier and Defense Minister Elias Murr suffered medium burns from a car bomb blast that ripped through his motorcade in Beirut's suburban district of Naccache Tuesday, local sources reported.
They said Murr, 45, the son-in-law of President Lahoud, was rushed alive to the nearby Sarhal hospital. Lahoud rushed to the hospital to check on his son-in-law's condition.
Murr's military aide de camp, Col. Elias Bayssari, suffered life-threatening wounds along with several other bodyguards.
At least two persons were killed.
Later Tuesday, Syria strongly condemned the bomb blast that targeted al-Murr earlier in the day, an official media source said. In a statement to the official SANA news agency, the unnamed media source said, "Syria considers this terrorist act as another part of a chain of series of explosions and assassinations that targeted destabilizing Lebanon and weakening its national unity".
The source added that these "terrorist acts" target the Lebanese of all trends and political streams, asserting that enemies of Lebanon and stability in the region stand behind these acts. Furthermore, the source said that Syria wishes Elias al-Murr and the other wounded people a quick recovery, and added it offers deep condolences and consolation to the families of the victims.
