Lebanon: Two killed in bombing

Beirut, 5 Sept. (AKI) - A roadside bomb explosion on Tuesday killed two people - a soldier and a civilian - in the Lebanese city of Sidon in an attack apparently aimed at a senior intelligence official involved in the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Colonel Samir Shahade, deputy head of Lebanon's internal intelligence service, was injured in the attack which took place in Rmeile near Sidon which is situated some 40 kilometres south of Beirut.

Two Syrian citizens were been detained in connection with the blast, Lebanese security sources said. One was a worker at a construction site in Rmeile not far from where the explosion took place, the sources said.

It was not immediately clear if the bomb exploded inside the car in which Shahade was travelling or in another vehicle.

Shahade was being treated at a hospital in the nearby city of Jiyye. In August 2005 he participated in an operation which led to the arrest of four top security force officials who have been accused of planning Hariri's 14 February 2005 murder.

Shahade also assisted the United Nations-appointed head of a probe into Harir's murder, Serge Brammertz in drafting a report on progress being made on the investigation. The report was submitted in may to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.