Lebanon still reeling from bomb attack

Demonstrators and gunmen burned tyres and blocked roads in Beirut on Saturday following a bomb explosion which killed a top security official. Friday's rush-hour bombing in a busy square in the predominantly Christian district of Ashrafieh killed eight people including the intelligence chief  of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ICF) General Wissam al-Hassan. The explosion also injured scores of people and gutted nearby apartments blocks. The explosion has increased tensions in Lebanon, especially in Sunni run areas. On Saturday angry youngsters took to the streets of Beirut to burn car wheels in protest over the killing, which has been blamed on Syrian President Bashar Al-Sadd. Al-Hassan was a well-known critic of the Syrian regime. Hassan was close to Saad Hariri, who is leader of the Lebanese opposition and hostile to the regime in Syria. He had been tipped to take over as ISF head at the end of this year. The funeral is scheduled to take place on Sunday, according to sources.