Arms challenge awaits Hizbollah after Lebanon poll

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is arguably Lebanon's most powerful leader and the prowess of his Hizbollah fighters gives him prestige far beyond its borders.

He has nothing to fear when Lebanon's phased parliamentary polls move south on Sunday, with victory assured for Hizbollah in alliance with Amal, the other main pro-Syrian group in the Shi'ite Muslim heartlands bordering Israel.

The Amal-Hizbollah "steamroller" is set to sweep the region's 23 seats in the second stage of elections that began in mainly Sunni Muslim Beirut last Sunday with a landslide win for the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

But Nasrallah will need all his political skill to deal with changes in Lebanon now that Syrian troops are gone and to fend off U.S.-led pressure on Hizbollah to abandon its weapons.

Key facts about Lebanon's Hizbollah

BEIRUT, June 2 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Hizbollah movement is contesting parliamentary elections in the south on Sunday in alliance with Amal, the other major Shi'ite Muslim group.

The Hizbollah-Amal slate could sweep all 23 seats allotted to south Lebanon in the 128-member parliament.

Following are key facts about Hizbollah:

* Hizbollah, or Party of God, was founded by Iranian Revolutionary Guards during Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. It was inspired by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who vowed holy war on Israel and its Western allies.

* Funded and armed by Tehran, the group began a guerrilla war to evict Israeli forces from Lebanon. Shadowy groups linked to Hizbollah launched suicide attacks on Western targets and took Westerners hostage in Beirut. The most spectacular attack was a suicide bombing that destroyed the U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut in October 1983, killing 241 servicemen.

* Hizbollah announced its political platform in 1985, aiming at turning Lebanon into an Iranian-style republic, a goal since dropped. It fought rival Lebanese groups until the civil war ended in 1990 and kept up attacks on Israeli occupation forces.

CHRONOLOGY-Key events in Lebanon since Hariri’s killing LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) – Samir Qaseer, a prominent anti-Syrian journalist of An-Nahar newspaper was …

LEBANON: Blast kills Lebanese journalist

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A car bomb exploded in a Christian area of Beirut Thursday, killing a prominent journalist known for his opposition to Syria's involvement in Lebanon, according Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.The journalist, identified as Samir Kassir, wrote for the Lebanese daily newspaper An Nahar -- A publication often critical of Syria..An unidentified woman was wounded in the blast, officials said. Lebanon is in the midst of parliamentary elections that began May 29 and run through June 19. The explosion occurred mid-morning in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Beirut, setting the car on fire and killing the occupant. Police, who cordoned off the area around the charred car, said the bomb was placed under the driver's seat. Kassir's body lay slumped on one side inside the blasted vehicle, an Alfa-Romeo sedan.