A former Lebanese minister and leader of a pro-Israeli militia involved in the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been assassinated.
Mr Elie Hobeika and at least three other people were killed in a blast, which occurred in the Hazmiyeh district of Beirut as Hobeika was leaving his home. Two of those killed were his bodyguards.
One security source said a car laden with explosives blew up as Mr Hobeika's car passed, knocking out windows in the building. Another source said the explosives had been planted in Hobeika's diving equipment in his car.
Mr Hobeika commanded the Christian Lebanese Forces militia, which massacred hundreds of Palestinian refugees at Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps after Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Israeli soldiers were encircling the camps during the massacres.
He always denied responsibility for the killings, over which a group of Palestinians is now trying to bring charges of war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, who led Israel's invasion of Lebanon as defence minister at the time.
Mr Hobeika said in July he would be willing to take part in court proceedings against Mr Sharon, which he said would help prove his innocence.
Mr Hobeika was a hated figure in many of Lebanon's political circles, including among his one-time allies in the Christian Lebanese Forces who regarded him as a traitor for switching his alliance to Syria during the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war.