US condemns killing of anti-Syrian lawmaker

WASHINGTON, Sep 19 (Reuters) The United States today said it strongly condemned the killing of an anti-Syrian Lebanese lawmaker and that it seemed to fit a pattern of other such killings.

The lawmaker, Antoine Ghanem of the Christian Phalange party, was killed by a car bomb a Christian district of Beirut.

At least 19 other people were wounded.

''There's been a pattern. This would seem to fit into the pattern,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Ghanem was killed as Parliament was due to convene on September.

25 to elect a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud.

Perino said there had been a pattern of killings in the past few years of people ''who publicly sought to end Syria's interference in Lebanon's internal affairs.'' REUTERS GL RK2332