Blood Baathist Update...

...or, Hey, Clooney, meet the real Syriana!

A prominent anti-Syrian journalist and lawmaker was killed by a car bomb Monday, a day after returning from France, where he had been staying periodically for fear of assassination.

A previously unknown group claimed responsibility, saying Gibran Tueni was "spreading poisons and lies despite our repeated warnings to him."
Tueni played a major role in the huge demonstrations that, combined with international pressure, forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April, ending a 29-year presence in the neighboring country. Those demonstrations were triggered by a February car bomb that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Tueni's uncle, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh, and the leading Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt blamed Syria for the bombing — a charge Syria denied.

Police said Tueni was one of three people killed when a car bomb exploded as his motorcade drove through Mkalles, an industrial suburb of Beirut. The others killed were his driver and an unidentified passer-by.

Another 30 people were wounded in the bombing, which started a fire that destroyed at least 10 vehicles. In the aftermath, church bells tolled and men wept in the street.

Jumblatt said the bombing was intended to silence a voice seeking those responsible for Hariri's assassination. Tueni, 48, was a respected columnist and the general manager of An-Nahar, the country's leading newspaper. His writings often raised the ire of Syria.

"This is a new terrorism message," Jumblatt said.

A previously unknown group, "The Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom in al-Sham," claimed responsibility. Al-Sham is Arabic for the eastern Mediterranean region that includes Lebanon, Syria,
Israel and the Palestinian areas.

"We have broken the pen of Gibran Tueni and gagged his mouth forever, turning An-Nahar into a dark night," it said.

"An-Nahar" is Arabic for day.

"He who contemplates attacking those who have sacrificed everything for the sake of Arabism and Lebanon will face the same fate as ... Tueni," the purported claim said.

The statement's authenticity could not be confirmed independently.
(Thanks to AP for the heads up.)