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| 'Nine killed' in Lebanon blasts | 'Nine killed' in Lebanon blasts |
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| At least nine people have been killed in explosions that hit two buses near the Lebanese capital, officials say. | At least nine people have been killed in explosions that hit two buses near the Lebanese capital, officials say. |
| Local reports said two blasts hit a road near the mainly Christian village of Bikfaya, in the hills above Beirut. | |
| Pictures showed one bus destroyed, its roof blown off and seats torn apart, with pools of blood on the roadside. | Pictures showed one bus destroyed, its roof blown off and seats torn apart, with pools of blood on the roadside. |
| The explosions come at a time of acute political tension in Lebanon, and a day before the second anniversary of the killing of former PM Rafik Hariri. | |
| A large rally is planned in downtown Beirut on Wednesday to mark the assassination, in a massive bomb blast that killed 22 others besides Hariri. | |
| Tension | |
| Lebanese radio said the buses were carrying people to work through the village of Ain Alaq, just south of Bikfaya. | |
| Ambulances rushed casualties to hospital and urgent appeals for blood donations were broadcast by the media. | |
| Bikfaya is the ancestral home of the Gemayels, one of the most prominent Christian families in Lebanese politics. | Bikfaya is the ancestral home of the Gemayels, one of the most prominent Christian families in Lebanese politics. |
| Pierre Gemayel, a member of Lebanon's anti-Syrian coalition government, was assassinated last November. | Pierre Gemayel, a member of Lebanon's anti-Syrian coalition government, was assassinated last November. |
| Sectarian and political tensions have been running high in Lebanon, erupting in clashes in January between supporters and opponents of the government. |