Jubran Tweini assassinated, Junblat accuses Syria

The Lebanese media personality and member of parliament, Jubran Tweini, was killed today morning in an explosion which shocked the "industrial zone" one of the outskirts of East Beirut.

A preliminary news report said other three men accompanying Tweini were at least killed in the explosion.

Lebanese security and media sources said that a booby trapped car was behind the explosion which took place in al-Mukallas area, near the offices of the UN investigation committee in charge for the investigation on the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

Reacting to the explosion,, the Lebanese Druze leader Walid Junblat accused Syria of assassinating Jubran Tweini. Tweini was one of the biggest critics of Syria, and had always called for its withdrawal from Lebanon.

In a telephone call with al-Jazeera TV later in the day, Junblat said "the message of the Syrian president has arrived," in remarks to statements made on Sunday evening by the Syrian president in which he said that "imposing besiege on Syria will destabilize the region as a whole."

For his part, the former Lebanese minister Wiaam Wahhab refused to accuse Syria. He said that the assassination attempt against one leader of Hizbullah several days ago confirms Israel's security infiltration in Lebanon, calling on people not to hurry and accuse Syria.