khazen.org condemns the attacks in Beirut – We pray for Lebanon its victims, peace and security

Fire and smoke is seen at the site of an explosion in Beirut’s southern suburbs January 2, 2014. The powerful explosion struck southern Beirut on Thursday, a stronghold of the Shi’ite group Hezbollah, killing at least 5 people and sending a column of smoke into the sky, a witness said. REUTERS/Jamal Sahili (LEBANON – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire following an explosion in Beirut’s southern suburbs, January 2, 2014.A powerful explosion struck southern Beirut on Thursday, a stronghold of the Shi’ite group Hezbollah, killing at least 5 people and sending a column of smoke into the sky, a witness said. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

BEIRUT — An explosion rocked a stronghold of the Shiite Hezbollah group in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, killing at least five people, setting cars ablaze and sending a column of black smoke above the Beirut skyline.

The nature of the explosion that hit during rush hour in the Haret Hreik neighborhood was not immediately clear, but a Lebanese security official said it appeared to be caused by a car bomb.

Hezbollah’s Al Manar television channel showed scenes of chaos in a residential area, with smoke rising above charred cars, crowds of people pushing past one another and ambulances and fire trucks arriving. The channel said that at least three people had been killed and eight wounded.

The blast came six days after a car bomb killed a prominent member of the Future bloc, the Sunni party that is Hezbollah’s main political rival. And it came a day after reports surfaced of the arrest by Lebanese authorities of a Saudi militant who leads the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a group affiliated with Al Qaeda that claimed responsibility for a November suicide bombing at the Beirut embassy of Iran, Hezbollah’s ally.

The recent bombings are part of a string of escalating attacks in recent months believed related to the nearly three-year-old conflict in Syria, which has deepened Lebanon’s pre-existing political and sectarian divisions. Hezbollah backs the Syrian government, sending its fighters to aid the army, and the Future movement backs the insurgency, which Lebanese Sunni militants have crossed the border to join.

On New Years Eve, a few hours before midnight, I sat with a family in the outskirts of Beirut.  We were piled into the living room, watching a serious-looking man on TV get interviewed.  On a background behind him, stars streamed past.  And stenciled onto his collar were the letters M and F.  They’re his initials. This is Mike Feghaly.

Feghaly is one of a handful of future predictors in Lebanon.  New Years Eve is the profession’s big night, when they make their most watched and grandest predictions.  Each TV station has its own celebrated predictor, and OTV has Mike Feghaly.

We watch as he moves through a variety of topics quickly.  Feghaly says that Suleiman Frangieh, a politician in Lebanon, will become the president of the country.  He predicts the Maronite Christians will get their own pope.

And he says that a well-known TV personality will get beat up.  The interviewer—himself a well-known TV personality—asks if it could be him.  And Feghaly answers, “Well, I wouldn’t rule it out.” The Lebanese family bursts out laughing.

  Published December 31, 2013 Associated Press – Bassam Mroue BEIRUT –  Through decades of conflict, there has been one thing all Lebanese could agree on, their adoration of the country’s iconic singer Fairouz, who stood unquestioned above the fray with her anthems to Lebanon and Palestine and songs of love. Now the 78-singer has […]

  The assassination of former Lebanese minister Mohammad Chatah came at a very critical time in Lebanon. The division and tension among the Lebanese have never reached such dangerous levels. The conflict in Syria and Hezbollah’s involvement in it has opened the Lebanese northern borders to all kinds of security risks and violence. And last […]

  The Lebanese army opened anti-aircraft fire on Monday at Syrian warplanes that hovered the eastern border town of Arsal.   According to state-run National News Agency, the Syrian warplanes prompted the Lebanese army to respond after it raided Khirbet Daoud, which lies in the Eastern Mountain Range in an area adjacent to the barren […]

  BEIRUT – President Michel Suleiman condemned the “cowardly” assassination of former Finance Minister Mohammad Chatah and called for further solidarity among the Lebanese. “This cowardly act, whatever the messages it carries are, will only make the Lebanese more determined to protect their country and preserve it as a space for peace, stability and dialogue in […]

  Your Excellency,   We are taking this exceptional step to address you and other regional and global leaders because these are exceptionally dangerous times for our country. Not only is Lebanon’s internal and external security being seriously threatened, but the very unity of our state is in real jeopardy. It is our obligation to […]

 khazen.org condemns the terrorists attacks in Beirut targeting Minister Chatah. We pray for the victims & hope lebanese unite for peace, liberty and security.

Lebanon’s former prime minister Fouad Siniora (C), accompanied with members of the "March 14" coalition, speaks as he condemns and announces the death of the Former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah in Beirut December 27, 2013. Former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in a massive bomb blast which one of his political allies blamed on Lebanon’s Shi’ite Hezbollah militia. REUTERS/Hussam Shebaro (LEBANON – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

In this photo taken on Oct. 1, 2013, Mohammed Chatah, a former finance minister and a senior aide to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, speaks during an interview in Beirut, Lebanon. A powerful car bomb tore through a business district in the center of the Lebanese capital Friday, Dec. 27, killing Chatah, a prominent pro-Western politician and at least five other people in an assassination certain to hike sectarian tensions already soaring because of the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Ahmad Omar)

A Lebanese Army soldier stands next to a destroyed car at the scene of an explosion in central Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The state news agency said a bombing in central Beirut has killed several people, including Mohammed Chatah, a senior aide to former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Lebanese man carries an injured woman at the scene of an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. A strong explosion has shaken the Lebanese capital, sending black smoke billowing from the center of Beirut. The blast went off a few hundred meters (yards) from the government headquarters and parliament building. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese firefighters extinguish burned vehicles at the scene of an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. A strong explosion has shaken the Lebanese capital, sending black smoke billowing from the center of Beirut. The blast went off a few hundred meters (yards) from the government headquarters and parliament building. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese army investigators in white coveralls stand next to a blast crater at the scene of an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. A powerful car bomb tore through a business district in the center of the Lebanese capital Friday, killing Mohammed Chatah, a prominent pro-Western politician and at least five other people in an assassination certain to hike sectarian tensions already soaring because of the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Workers clean up broken glass in front of a Christmas tree in the entrance of a business center at the scene of an explosion, in central Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The powerful car bomb tore through a business district in the center of the Lebanese capital Friday, killing a prominent pro-Western politician and several other people in an assassination certain to hike sectarian tensions already soaring because of the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Workers clean up broken glass in front of a Christmas tree in the entrance of a business center at the scene of an explosion, in central Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The powerful car bomb tore through a business district in the center of the Lebanese capital Friday, killing a prominent pro-Western politician and several other people in an assassination certain to hike sectarian tensions already soaring because of the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Workers clean up broken glass in front of a Christmas tree in the entrance of a business center at the scene of an explosion, in central Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The powerful car bomb tore through a business district in the center of the Lebanese capital Friday, killing a prominent pro-Western politician and several other people in an assassination certain to hike sectarian tensions already soaring because of the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

REFILE – CORRECTING TRANSLITERATION OF THE NAME MOHAMAD CHATAH A Lebanese army soldier gestures as he runs near the site of the explosion in Beirut’s downtown area December 27, 2013. Former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah was killed in the explosion that targeted his convoy in Beirut on Friday, three security sources told Reuters. REUTERS/Steve Crisp (LEBANON – Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY)

REFILE – CORRECTING TRANSLITERATION OF THE NAME MOHAMAD CHATAH A view of a crater that was caused by an explosion in Beirut’s downtown area December 27, 2013. Former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in an explosion that targeted his convoy in Beirut on Friday along with at least four other people, security sources said. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (LEBANON – Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)

Lebanese army investigators in white coveralls inspect the scene of an explosion in central Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The state news agency said a bombing in central Beirut killed several people, including Mohammed Chatah, a senior aide to former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

CNN) — Mohamad Chatah, a former Lebanese finance minister and ambassador to the United States, died Friday when a car bomb struck his convoy in downtown Beirut, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

The blast killed five others and left 71 wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Cars were burned beyond recognition as a wall of flames and thick black smoke shot up from the blast site.

Chatah’s bodyguard, Mohammed Badr, was among those killed, the news agency said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Chatah’s last tweet, posted about an hour before his death, talked about Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based Shiite militant group with which Chatah was at odds.

"#Hezbollah is pressing hard to be granted similar powers in security & foreign policy matters that Syria exercised in Lebanon for 15 yrs," Chatah tweeted.

That group decried the attack in a statement aired on Hezbollah TV, saying the it "only benefits the enemies of Lebanon."

The group called on "all the security and judicial agencies to be on high alert to expose the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

Chatah was known as a staunch critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom he accused of meddling in Lebanon’s internal affairs. Hezbollah has sent fighters to help al-Assad’s forces in the Syrian civil war.

"A united and peaceful Syria ruled by Assad is simply not possible anymore. It has been like that for some time," Chatah wrote in his last blog post. "The status quo ante cannot be restored. Iran and Hezbollah realize this more than anyone else." http://mohamadchatah.blogspot.com/