Palestinian militant dies in car bombing

A leading Palestinian militant has been killed in a car bombing in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

40-year-old Jihad Jibril, the head of military operations for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, died when a bomb that was planted under his car exploded at around midday on a street off the busy shopping district of Corniche Mazraa.

His death was announced by al-Manar, the television station run by the Hezbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon.

Jihad Jibril’s father, Ahmed, is also a well-known Palestinian guerrilla leader.

Car bombs were once commonplace in Beirut, but they all but disappeared after the Government regained control of the country following Israel’s 1982 invasion.

In January, Elie Hobeika, the former leader of the pro-Israeli Phalangist militia, died along with three of his bodyguards in a car bomb that was initially blamed on the Israeli security services.

The day before the attack, Mr Hobeika had given a statement to Belgian lawyers compiling war crimes charges against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Mr Hobeika had apparently agreed to testify about his role in the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatile refugee camps in 1982.

An Israeli investigation found that Mr Sharon, as Israeli Defence Minister, was "indirectly responsible" for the massacre.