Bomb In Northern Lebanese City Kills 18

The bombing is a sickening reminder of past atrocities and possible future traumas

From Yahoo News/AP:

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - A bomb ripped through a bus carrying civilians and members of the Lebanese military during Wednesday morning rush hour in the northern city of Tripoli, killing 18 people and wounding 46, security officials said.

The officials said the dead included 10 off-duty soldiers, from a bomb planted on the side of a main street that detonated as the bus passed. The streets were filled with people heading to work, which contributed to the many casualties, the officials said.

The blast was the first significant bombing in Lebanon in months and comes as the country is making moved to put three years of back-to-back crises behind it.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman was heading to Syria later Wednesday in the first visit there by a Lebanese president since 2005, aimed at patching up troubled ties between the neighboring countries. A day earlier, parliament approved a long-awaited national unity government between the Western-backed factions of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah.

Read more ....

More News On Lebanon:

At least 18 dead in Lebanon bus bombing -- Times Online
Lebanon bus stop bomb kills 18 -- Reuters
Lebanon lurches back to the brink -- BBC News
Lebanon MPs approve unity cabinet -- BBC
Lebanon president in groundbreaking Syria trip -- AFP
FACTBOX-Lebanon's unsettled north -- Reuters

My Comment: Someone definitely does not want to see peace returning to Lebanon. 24 hours after a parliamentary vote that put together a unity government, and on the eve of the Lebanese President going to Syria .... we have terrorism rearing its ugly head.