Army general killed in Lebanon blast

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BEIRUT, Dec 12 (AFP): An army general was among at least four people killed Wednesday in a roadside bomb that also injured seven others in a Christian suburb on the outskirts of Beirut, a security source told AFP.
"General Francois El Hajj was killed in the blast and several other people were injured, including his driver," the source, who did not wish to be identified said.
According to several other sources, Hajj was tipped to replace the army's top commander General Michel Sleiman, who is the frontrunner to become Lebanon's next president.
Earlier a Lebanese Red Cross official told AFP that four people were killed and seven were wounded in the morning rush hour blast that rocked the suburb of Baabda, southeast of Beirut.
An AFP correspondant at the scene said the blast took place outside the Baabda municipal building, causing severe damage to the face of the structure and destroying several cars parked nearby.
Ambulances rushed to the site to evacuate the casualties and firefighters extinguished cars set ablaze.