A car bomb that went off in mainly Christian east Beirut today killed a senior Lebanese police intelligence officer and up to 10 other people.
Police chief Ashraf Rifi identified the dead officer as Captain Wisam Eid, whose vehicle was caught in the explosion as he was on his way to work. A bodyguard was also killed.
Captain Eid worked for an intelligence unit that is widely viewed as close to anti-Syrian ruling coalition leader Saad al-Hariri.
A Lebanese soldier secures the explosion site in the Beirut suburbs
The police intelligence unit has been closely involved in the UN-led investigation into the 2005 assassination of Mr Hariri's father, former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, and in a crackdown on al-Qaeda-inspired militants.
Dozens of vehicles were damaged in the explosion, which ripped a large crater in the road.
The explosion occurred 10 days after a car bomb damaged a US diplomatic car in the Lebanese capital, killing three people and wounding 16.
Last month a car bomb killed the army's chief of operations, Brig-Gen Francois Haj, in east Beirut.
The majority coalition accuses Syria of being behind Mr Hariri's assassination and many of the 30 or more bombings that have hit Lebanon in the last three years. Many attacks have been against anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.