Tension Grows Between Syria and Lebanon After Bombings

Syrian and Lebanese political leaders have traded angry accusations after terrorist bombings in both countries fueled fears of a new crisis between them.

Saad Hariri, leader of the western-backed Sunni Future Movement, lashed out at Bashar al-Assad after the Syrian president warned that northern Lebanon had become "a base for extremism and constitutes a danger for Syria".

Hariri retorted that it was Syria that was "a clear and direct threat" to Lebanon, bluntly accusing Damascus of "infiltrating extremists to north Lebanon to carry out terrorist attacks targeting the Lebanese army and civilians". Last week thousands of Syrian troops reportedly gathered on Lebanon's northern border, sparking concerns of a large-scale incursion.

Seven Lebanese, including four soldiers, died on Monday in a bus bomb attack in Tripoli, the country's second-largest city. Similar to a bombing in August, it was widely blamed on Fatah al-Islam, an extremist Sunni group the Lebanese military fought last year in a nearby Palestinian refugee camp, Nahr el-Bared. Lebanese sources insisted it has, or had, links to Syrian intelligence.

On Saturday, 17 people died in a suicide car bombing near Damascus - Syria's worst terrorist incident in more than 20 years. Officials said it had been carried out by a "Takfiri" group - standard terminology for al-Qaida - and hinted that the perpetrators came from Iraq, where the US military "surge" has put al-Qaida under pressure.

Analysts suggested the Damascus attack may have been an act of retaliation, after the Syrian government, anxious to improve its image in the west, tightened control of its long border with Iraq. The apparent target was a Syrian intelligence office near the Shia shrine of Sayyida Zeynab, where many Iraqi refugees live.

Syrian opposition sources have claimed that one of the victims was an intelligence officer, fueling speculation about whether the bombing was linked to some internal squabble.

"It is possible that there is no connection between the incidents in Tripoli and Damascus," said Nadim Shehadi, a Middle East expert at Chatham House in London. "But the perception in Lebanon is that terrorists who cross the border and blow themselves up are sent from Damascus. And in Syria, they are keen to show that Lebanon cannot function without them and that when they were in charge there they managed to keep a lid on all these terrorist groups."

Assad's comments have heightened concerns that Syria could have designs on its smaller neighbor.

In Beirut, Hariri denounced the deployment of Syrian troops along Lebanon's northern borders. He urged the international community not to allow Syria to intervene in Lebanese affairs under the guise of fighting extremism.