Bombing in Lebanon kills five soldiers

LEBANON:FIVE LEBANESE soldiers were killed yesterday when a car bomb exploded next to a bus in rush-hour traffic in Tripoli, where Sunni Muslim militants have been battling the country's army since May 2007.

Eighteen of the 24 wounded were soldiers. An explosion in August killed 14, including nine soldiers. Fatah al-Islam, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group blamed for previous attacks, is a prime suspect, but other Sunni militant factions (taqfiris) cannot be ruled out.

The Tripoli incident followed Sunday's spike in bombings in Baghdad, which left 35 dead, and a suicide bombing in Damascus on Saturday that killed 17.

The timing of these bombings was not coincidental, but it is unlikely that they were co-ordinated. They occurred at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan as families were making preparations for this week's feast.

The Damascus and Baghdad bombings took place in areas frequented by Shias, regarded as heretics by taqfiris.

Tripoli is home to a heterodox Shia Alawite community resented by Sunnis. By striking during Ramadan, perpetrators not only show hatred for those targeted but also ignore the tradition that Ramadan should be a time of reconciliation.

In Lebanon, taqfiris would like to disrupt the national dialogue between sparring politicians who took the country to the brink of civil war last May. In Syria, taqfiris aim to destabilise a secular regime which has close ties with Shia Iran, has revived relations with the West, and has been negotiating with Israel. In Baghdad, taqfiris seek to oust the US-installed Shia fundamentalist regime - which is also tied to Tehran - and drive US forces from Iraq.

The ultimate goal of most taqfiri groups is the creation of a fundamentalist Sunni regime to govern the international Muslim community, the Umma. In the meantime, taqfiris are lashing out at antagonists.

Meanwhile, a BBC poll conducted in 23 countries showed that 46 per cent of those questioned do not believe the US "war on terror" has been successful in curbing al-Qaeda and its allies.

Twenty-nine per cent say the campaign has had no impact, while 30 per cent say US policies have strengthened al-Qaeda. Most respondents have a negative view of al-Qaeda, but in Egypt 60 per cent have a positive or mixed opinion, and in Pakistan only 19 per cent have a negative opinion.