Car bombing targets Lebanese troops, kills 4 soldiers, 1 civilian

A remote control car bomb packed with ball bearings ripped through a military bus on Monday, killing four soldiers and a civilian in a city rocked by sectarian fighting, Lebanese officials said.

It was the second deadly attack targeting troops in northern Lebanon in less than two months.

A senior military official told The Associated Press the car packed with explosives was parked on the side of a road and detonated by remote control as the bus drove through the Bahsas neighborhood on the southern entrance to the northern port city of Tripoli.

Twenty five people were injured in the blast, which tossed the car about a dozen yards during morning rush hour, according to security officials, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The car’s owner showed up later at the blast site, according to several television stations, and was picked up by intelligence agents for questioning.