Syria accused of Hariri attack as Lebanon mourns

LEBANON mourned assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri yesterday as opposition leaders bluntly implicated Syria in an attack that Lebanese authorities said might have been a suicide bombing.

Schools, banks and shops were closed and the streets of the capital were virtually empty as Lebanon started three days of mourning.

Soldiers were deployed at some intersections, the armed forces were put on full alert and troops' leave was cancelled. The Sunni Muslim billionaire's death in a car bomb blast on Monday has spotlighted Lebanon's troubled ties with its powerful neighbour and revived memories of the 1975-90 civil war.