Syria calls Lebanon attack "act of terrorism"

DAMASCUS - Syria, the main power broker in its smaller neighbour Lebanon, condemned Monday's killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri as an "act of terrorism".

A massive car bomb killed Hariri on Beirut's waterfront, witnesses and security sources said. At least eight others, some of them his bodyguards, also died.

"Syria regards this as an act of terrorism, a crime that seeks to destabilise" Lebanon, Syrian Information Minister Mahdi Dakhl-Allah told Reuters by telephone.

"Syria expresses its support and backing for Lebanon," said Dakhl-Allah, whose country keeps about 14,000 troops in Lebanon under a bilateral arrangement with Beirut.

He told Al Jazeera television it was a "black day" for Syria, Lebanon and all Arabs.

"He was a distinguished popular Lebanese leader who fought for Lebanon's growth, prosperity and independence," Dakhl-Allah said. "It's a criminal, terrorist act that aims to shake Lebanon's stability and kill as many Lebanese as possible."

"This comes at a time of great international pressure on Lebanon and Syria which aims to realise Israel's desires in the region and this act cannot be separated from these pressures," he added.

Hariri, a billionaire businessman who resigned from government last October, had recently joined calls by the opposition for Syrian troops to quit Lebanon in the run-up to a general election in May.

- REUTERS