The US Embassy restricted the movement of its staff Wednesday and urged Americans to be vigilant a day after a bomb hit one of its vehicles in the first attack in more than two decades targeting American diplomats here.
Two Lebanese and a Syrian were killed in the bombing, which took place as President Bush was touring the Middle East. The attack highlighted the growing chaos in Lebanon, which has descended into violence over the last three years after almost a decade of calm following its long civil war.
US diplomats are deeply involved in the country's fractured politics, supporting the government against the Syrian-backed opposition. The sides have been deadlocked over choosing a new president.
The armour-plated embassy car was damaged in the bombing on a north Beirut highway, and its Lebanese driver and an American teacher at a nearby church were among 26 people wounded. Two Lebanese and a Syrian bystander were killed.
Lebanese troops set up checkpoints and diverted traffic Wednesday near the north Beirut seaside highway where the bomb exploded a road that embassy staff would have had to take to attend a farewell reception for the departing US ambassador scheduled later Tuesday. It was cancelled.