A columnist for the Lebanese publication An Nahar has been murdered in a car bombing, in which his car was rigged to explode upon ignition. Here is the report from Reporters Without Borders:

Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert M????nard, who is currently in Lebanon, voiced dismay at the murder of columnist Samir Kassir of the An-Nahar newspaper, who was killed when his car blew up this morning in Beirut.

“We are in a complete state of shock after Samir Kassir’s cowardly murder,” M????nard said. “We have lost a friend, and press freedom has lost a passionate defender. We share his family’s grief and anger, and we extend our heart-felt sympathy to the entire staff of An-Nahar.”

M????nard added : “The French authorities and the UN commission investigating the assassination of Rafik Hariri should pay particular attention to this new act of terrorism. Those responsible for the murder, which targeted a great journalist, must be identified, arrested and punished. We promise to remain mobilised until justice has been done.”

Kassir was killed when his white Alfa Romeo car exploded at 10:45 a.m. (07:45 GMT) in the Christian neighbourhood of Achrafieh. A woman whose identity was not immediately know was injured by the blast.

Lebanese army soldiers rushed to the scene of the bombing. The prime minister and the French ambassador also went to the scene.

A writer and historian with both French and Lebanese citizenship, 45-year-old Kassir had been writing columns for the past 10 years for An-Nahar (“The Day” in Arabic), a moderate daily newspaper with a circulation of 55,000.

Well-known for his anti-Syrian positions and his criticism of the “Lebanese police state,” he had been harassed and threatened for years. He was also an active participant in the anti-Syrian protests in the spring of this year.

You can also read An Nahar’s English report here. I recall reading several of Kassir’s reports, and it is not often that one comes to know the name and style of a journalist so distinctly. What a disaster! This just goes to show that Syrian intelligence is still operating in the shadows of Lebanon, and that is exactly where the blame is going.

An Nahar’s General-Manager Gebran Tueni on Thursday held Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime “responsible from head to toe,” for the assassination of columnist Samir Kassir in Beirut.
“Bashar Assad should not be allowed to have a single intelligence operative lingering in Lebanon,” said Tueni, who was elected to Lebanon’s first free-from-Syria parliament in the Beirut polls on Sunday from the assassination scene.

“The Syrian regime is responsible from head to toe for this horrific terrorist crime. Lebanon’s opposition should promptly close ranks anew to have every Syrian intelligence cell left behind in Lebanon ruthlessly smashed,” Tueni said.

Tueni issued a particular plea to Gen. Aoun to return to the opposition fold for a fresh drive to “obliterate Syria’s secret presence” in Lebanon.

“It was Samir Kassir today, it may be Gebran Tueni tomorrow and God knows who else would follow. Syria’s terrorism has to be snuffed out once and for all,” Tueni said shaking in rage.

Walid Jumblat blamed Kassir’s assassination on the “remnants of Lebanese security services affiliated to Syria under the direct sponsorship of President Lahoud, whose ouster is a must to be able to establish a free, democratic and sovereign Lebanon.”

Saad Hariri released a statement calling Kassir’s murder a “terrorist crime” and vowing to spare no effort to track down the assassins with “the same zest that I am struggling to uncover my father’s killers.”

Of course, pro-Syria puppet President Lahoud is still in power. It may be worth continuing to pressure him as well, especially since he has said he would not step down even if parliament asked him to.

UPDATE: Where’s Linda Foley?