Lebanese on edge after bomb linked to Syria

Lebanese on edge after bomb linked to Syria

BEIRUT

Lebanese protesters erected flaming roadblocks and gunmen roamed the streets Saturday in a city on edge after the assassination of a top security official in a powerful car bomb the prime minister linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria.

The crisis raised a terrifying specter for Lebanese who fear their country could easily plunge back into cycles of violence and reprisal that had haunted it for decades.

Friday’s blast in the heart of Beirut’s Christian area killed eight people, including the country’s intelligence chief, Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan.

6 Afghan officers killed in insider attack

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan

An Afghan police officer and cook poisoned their colleagues at a checkpoint in an assault coordinated with insurgent fighters that left six dead in the country’s south, officials said Saturday.

It was the latest in a string of attacks from inside the Afghan army and police that are threatening to undermine both the partnership with international troops — which have been the target of many attacks — and the morale of Afghan forces, who have suffered equally heavy casualties from such strikes.

Libya claims capture of Gadhafi spokesman

TRIPOLI, Libya

The Libyan government said Saturday that its forces had detained one of the key members of Moammar Gadhafi’s inner circle, but a recording purported to be the slain leader’s former spokesman denied the claim in an online posting and said he’s not even in the country.

The dueling reports, neither of which could be independently verified, came on the anniversary of the capture and killing of Gadhafi as a brutal civil war came to an end. The confusion reflected the turmoil that has persisted over the past year, leaving the oil-rich North African nation deeply divided.

Dad, 4-year-old killed in Calif. shooting; 3 hurt

INGLEWOOD, Calif.

Police searched for a gunman who wore a painter’s mask as he set fire to a home before going on a shooting spree early Saturday, killing a father and his 4-year-old son and injuring a woman and two other young children near Los Angeles.

The 30-year-old father was shielding two of his children when he was shot, Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said.

Also, the 28-year-old woman — said to be the children’s mother — carried the wounded 4-year-old to a neighbor’s yard after the attack.

“This extraordinary rescue attempt by the mother occurred in spite of the fact that she had gunshot wounds to both legs,” a police department statement said.

Associated Press