Journalist Wounded In Car Bomb

A prominent Lebanese journalist working for a leading anti-Syrian television station was seriously wounded Sunday when a bomb placed under her car exploded, the latest in a string of bombings in the country.

Political talk show host May Chidiac of the private Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation was inside her car when the bomb exploded in Ghadir, a town near the Christian port city of Jounieh, north of the capital, Lebanese security officials and the TV station said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Chidiac was critically injured and taken to a nearby hospital. She was later transferred to Hotel Dieu hospital in Beirut for surgery. Dr. Antoine Zoghbi, who heads the hospital's emergency unit, told reporters Chidiac was undergoing extensive surgery and her condition was "very stable."

The latest attack comes amid rising fears in Lebanon of security deterioration as U.N. investigation into the assassination former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri nears conclusion. Just two days ago, the U.N. investigators returned to Lebanon after four days of questioning Syrian officials in Damascus.

The country has been rife with rumors and speculation of more attacks as chief investigator Detlev Mehlis prepares to issue his report in late October.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, speaking to reporters outside the hospital in Jounieh, said the bomb, like other recent explosions, was related to the Hariri investigation.

"There is no doubt it is all related, we don't want to deny that," Saniora said.

He appealed to Lebanese to be patient. "We are paying the tax for freedom and independence," Saniora said, adding that he had contacted the U.S. ambassador for technical assistance.

The bomb was planted under the driver's seat of Chidiac's Range Rover and exploded when she turned on the car. LBC reported that one of her legs and arms were severed by the blast.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said the bomb was made up of less than two pounds of plastic explosives, placed under the driver's seat. Television footage from the scene showed part of the car's left door was blown off while the front of the vehicle was a twisted wreck.

Presidential spokesman Rafik Shalala denounced the explosion and said its aim was to destabilize security in Lebanon.

Chidiac, who is in her 40s, is one of several hosts of a daily political talk show at the station, which broadcasts in Lebanon and is widely seen in the Arab world and by Lebanese communities across the world. Chidiac hosted the show Sunday morning with a political analyst from the leading An-Nahar newspaper.

LBC, a Christian TV station, is among the most prominent of anti-Syrian media outlets.

The explosion recalls a similar one on June 2, when anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir was killed by a bomb placed under the seat of his car.

Opponents of Syria's role in Lebanon have accused remnants of the Lebanese-Syrian intelligence apparatus of being behind the Hariri assassination and other bombings which targeted anti-Syrian personalities and shopping centers and industrial areas since then.

"There are remnants of the security apparatus who seem to be somewhere still causing security breaches. The country's security is exposed and anyone can fish (in the waters) and place bombs," said anti-Syrian politician Walid Jumblatt.

In an interview with LBC, Jumblatt called for the appointment of security officials to replace the arrested ones, appointments that have been held up by disputes among political groups within the government.

The U.N. mission to Syria added more pressure on the Damascus regime, which has been accused by opponents in Lebanon of involvement in Hariri's killing.

Syria denies any role in the assassination, which prompted a wave of anti-Syrian protests here and helped end Syria's almost three-decade domination of Lebanon.

Local media speculate that the report could implicate more officials in Lebanon and even in neighboring Syria, the country which controlled Lebanon with its army and its military intelligence until April.

Already, four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals have been arrested in the February bombing which killed Hariri and 20 others.