UNSC condemns Beirut blast

The UN Security Council has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Beirut which killed a top-ranking Lebanese security official and seven others.

United Nations: The UN Security Council (UNSC) has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Beirut which killed a top-ranking Lebanese security official and seven others.

In a message, the UNSC also urged Lebanese people to maintain unity in the face of attempts to destabilise the country. Brig Gen Wissam al-Hassan, the intelligence chief of Lebanon`s Internal Security Forces, and seven others were killed Friday in a massive car bomb blast, which occurred in Ashrafiya, a predominantly Christian district in east Beirut. Over 80 people were also injured, according to local media. The Security Council in a press statement said: "The members of the Security Council reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of any attempt to destabilise Lebanon through political assassinations and demanded an immediate end to the use of intimidation and violence against political figures." "They appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of such attempts to undermine the country`s stability...," the document said. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the first car bombing in Beirut in four years. But former Lebanese prime minister and current opposition leader Saad Hariri was quick to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad`s regime for the bombing. IANS