Lebanon sees rise in violence over weekend

Three people were reported killed in incidents in the mountain areas above Beirut Sunday after a night of artillery and rocket exchanges in which Christian areas of Beirut came under fire for the first time in several months.

The attacks came two days after a car bomb flattened a building in Shtoura, eastern Lebanon, used by Palestinian guerrillas, Syrian troops, and Lebanese leftist militiamen. The explosion claimed an estimated 15 to 30 lives. A group calling itself the Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners claimed responsibility for the bomb.