Bomb Causes Heavy Damage to Church in Zahle

A bomb targeted a Syriac Orthodox church in the eastern city of Zahle’s industrial district at dawn Sunday, causing heavy material damage.

The National News Agency said the 2-kilogram TNT explosives were planted outside the church’s doorstep and controlled by a mobile phone.

Media reports said the device went off at 4:15 am blowing up St Mary church’s door and damaging benches. Shrapnel reached the altar, they added.

The incident took place in the same area where seven Estonian tourists were kidnapped on Wednesday.

MP Elie Marouni told Voice of Lebanon radio station that the two incidents are interlinked and are aimed at creating instability in the Central Bekaa.

Joseph Maalouf, another MP from Zahle, said Sunday's incident as well as the kidnappings were clearly aimed at sowing unrest in the region.

"This is part of efforts to undermine civil peace and security, especially as Lebanon has been without a government for more than two months," Maalouf told Agence France Presse.

"Security forces must quickly stop these kinds of attacks and reveal any information they have on these incidents," he added.

Zahle’s Syriac archbishop, Boulos Safar, who inspected the damage accused “faithless people” of being behind the blast. “The explosion targets Lebanon and its security stability.”

Safar held Sunday mass outside the church despite the attack.

Later Sunday, the archbishop received a phone call from President Michel Suleiman, who condemned the attack and briefed Safar about the available information concerning the bombing.

Safar thanked Suleiman for his solidarity, expressing his appreciation for the prompt response from the army, the Internal Security Forces and all security agencies.

For his part, caretaker premier Saad Hariri telephoned Safar, condemning the attack and expressing his solidarity with the Syriac community and Zahle residents.

Hariri stressed the need to take all measures necessary to unveil the perpetrators and put them on trial.

Syriac Union Party leader Ibrahim Mrad strongly condemned the church bombing, stressing that "this attack targets Lebanon, civil peace and coexistence and it is aimed at creating a tumult and a strife among the area's locals."

Addressing the incident, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said that "some people's inciteful rhetoric is of no use anymore and attacks against places of worship will create bigger repercussions."

"Stability in Lebanon is being targeted," Aoun warned, calling on security agencies to "perform their duties because that's not related to the presence of a cabinet or not."

"There's a dereliction of duty by the agencies as terrorist cells shouldn't inhabit certain places without being arrested," Aoun noted.