August 14, 2008	Thursday	Sha'aban 11, 1429

TRIPOLI (Lebanon), Aug 13: At least 15 people including nine soldiers were killed in Lebanon on Wednesday, according to security sources, in the deadliest attack on the army since a battle with Al Qaeda-inspired militants last year.

An army statement described the attack in the northern city of Tripoli as a “terrorist bombing” — a phrase used in the past by the military when it suspects militants’ involvement. It said the bomb had been placed in a bag at a bus stop where soldiers usually gather.

Another 45 people were wounded. Four were in a critical condition, medical sources said.

Red Cross workers ferried casualties to hospital. The ground was spattered with blood and covered in shards of glass.

“It seems that the bomb was detonated wirelessly by remote,” Lebanon’s police chief Ashraf Reefi said. Security sources had earlier put the death toll at 18.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack in Lebanon’s second largest city, which has been the scene of fighting between security forces and militants and sectarian violence linked to political tension in Lebanon.

—Reuters