Nine killed in Lebanon bus blasts-security source

BEIRUT, Feb 13 (Reuters) Nine people were killed in two bomb blasts that wrecked minibuses near the Lebanese Christian mountain town of Bikfaya today, a security source said.

The source said about 20 people had been wounded. The attacks on the public buses occurred a day before the second anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Security fears have been running high in Lebanon since clashes last month between supporters and opponents of the Western-backed government.

An army spokesman said one explosion had ripped through a minibus carrying passengers near the town, causing casualties. He said it appeared from first reports that the second blast had hit another minibus in the same area.

Television footage showed several destroyed vehicles, including a minibus with its roof torn off, on a mountain road. Ambulances were evacuating the casualties.

Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa said early information showed that the bombs had exploded inside the minibuses.

The head of the Lebanese Red Cross said at least three dead and six wounded had been taken to a nearby hospital. ''There could be more casualties,'' Georges Kettani told Reuters.

Bikfaya is the home town of former President Amin Gemayel, whose son Pierre was assassinated in November. Gemayel is a supporter of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government, which is locked in a power struggle with the Hezbollah-led opposition.

REUTERS SY PM1339