Bomb kills Druse politician in Lebanon

A bomb tore through a car in the hills east of Lebanon's capital on Wednesday, killing a Druse politician who recently helped reconcile rival factions within that minority community, police said. The bomb that killed Sheik Saleh Aridi, a senior member of the Lebanese Democratic Party, was planted in his car in the village of Baissour, police said. It was the first political assassination in about a year in Lebanon and came less than a week before planned reconciliation talks among rival Lebanese factions. Prime Minister Fuad Saniora contacted Druse leaders and joined them in calling for calm. Six other people were injured in the blast, which went off as Aridi got into his Mercedes sedan in front of his house in the Druse-populated hills near the resort town of Aley, police said. Police said the charge was stuck under the car's body, below the driver's seat, and blew up as the car rolled. Officials believe it was triggered either by remote control or by a motion sensor.