Beirut - The car bomb explosion on Wednesday that for the first time killed a senior army official was the latest in a string of assassinations in Lebanon that has hit Lebanon since the 2005 killing of former premier Rafik Hariri. Brigadier General Francois El-Hajj, killed along with at least four others in the Christian suburb of Baabda not far rom his army command in Yarze, was nominated to replace top army commander General Michel Suleiman, if the later became Lebanon's next president.
Following is a list of the main politically motivated attacks in the paralyzed country, which is divided between pro- and anti-Syrian camps.
2005
February 14: Five-time prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others were killed by a massive car bomb in Beirut that also wounded 220 people.
June 2: Anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir killed by a car bomb in the Ashrafiyeh Christian quarter of Beirut.
June 21: Former Communist Party secretary general Georges Hawi killed by a car bomb near his home in the capital.
July 12: Defence Minister Elias Murr escapes with serious wounds a car bombing in a north-east Beirut suburb that killed one person and wounded nine others.
September 25: Journalist May Chidiac escaped a car bomb explosion with serious injuries.
December 12: Member of parliament (MP) and anti-Syrian journalist Gibran Tueni, a Christian, killed along with his driver and bodyguard in a car bombing near Beirut. Two years to the day before General El- Hajj's assassination.
2006
September 5: Lieutenant Colonel Samir Shehadeh, an official linked to the inquiry into the Hariri murder, wounded and four of his bodyguards killed in a blast in south Beirut.
November 21: Anti-Syrian MP and Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel and his bodyguard shot dead in Jdeideh north of the cap
