Lebanese Christian politician killed

Story Highlights

• NEW: President Bush says Syria, Iran trying to undermine Lebanese government
• Lebanese Cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel shot dead in Beirut
• Syria "strongly" condemns Gemayel's assassination, as does U.S.

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BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanese Cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel -- a key member of the anti-Syrian majority in the Lebanese parliament -- has been shot dead in an assassination that raises tensions between opponents and allies of Syria.

Gemayel, Lebanon's industry minister and a member of the Phalange Party, had just left a church and was driving through a Christian neighborhood of Beirut on Tuesday when at least one vehicle rammed his car, security officials said.

Three gunmen then shot Gemayel at point-blank range with automatic weapons, security officials told The Associated Press.

Gemayel, who was in his 30s, was said to have been hit at least twice in the head and neck. He was taken to a hospital where he later died. Lebanese television broadcast video of the bullet-riddled car.

Gemayel was a member of a prominent Christian political family in Lebanon. His grandfather founded the Christian Phalange party; his father, Amin Gemayel, was president of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988; and an uncle, Bashir Gemayel, was elected president but was assassinated before he could take office in 1982.

Saad Hariri, whose father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in 2005, immediately blamed Syria, saying, "the hands of Syria are all over the place" because the Syrians want to stop the Lebanese government from approving a United Nations tribunal to prosecute those responsible for his father's assassination. (Watch aftermath of shooting )

U.S. President George W. Bush denounced the killing, saying that Syria and Iran were trying to undermine the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

"We support the Siniora government and its democracy and we support the Lebanese people's desire to live in peace," Bush said while visiting U.S. troops in Honolulu, AP said. "And we support their efforts to defend their democracy against attempts by Syria, Iran and allies to foment instability and violence in that important country."

Bush stopped short of blaming Iran or Syria, calling for a full investigation to identify "those people and those forces" behind the killing.

Other Lebanese leaders, including Gemayel's father, called for calm.

"We don't want reactions, we don't want vengeance," Amin Gemayel said.

He said his son had been "martyred" for the cause of freedom in Lebanon.

Siniora, in a televised address to the nation, also called Pierre Gemayel a "martyr for the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon."

He vowed: "We will not let criminals dictate the future of Lebanon" and said the killing of Gemayel "makes us more committed to the international tribunal which is a deterrent to the criminals."

Television footage showed hundreds of angry and weeping family members and supporters gathering at the hospital where Gemayel died.

Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese Druze leader, also appealed for Lebanese to control their emotions, but he vowed, "The international tribunal is coming."

'Hands of Syria' cited

The Lebanese government is currently locked in a power struggle with pro-Syrian factions led by Hezbollah.

Six Hezbollah members of the 24-member Lebanese Cabinet have resigned from the panel and have called for the government to step down.

But Siniora has refused to resign, saying the Lebanese constitution allows the government to stand so long as two-thirds of its members remain in office. With the death of Gemayel, that majority has been reduced and the assassination or resignation of other ministers could cause the government to fall.

Pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud called the killing of Pierre Gemayel a "sad day" for the country.

"All Lebanese must stand united," said Lahoud, "otherwise the whole of Lebanon will be the loser."

Saad Hariri, who is the majority leader in parliament, told CNN, "Pierre Gemayel was one of the people who was one of the founders also of the revolution, and today, as we have warned the international community that our revolution is under attack. Today one of our main people, main believers in a free, democratic Lebanon, has been killed.

"And we believe that the hands of Syria are all over the place because today, in a few days it will have been the second vote on the international tribunal that Syria has always been trying to avoid."

In a statement released by Syria's state-run news agency, Syria "strongly" condemned Gemayel's assassination.

"This horrible crime is aimed at destabilizing solidity and civil security in Lebanon," said the dispatch, quoting an official media source. The dispatch said the source underlined "Syria's keenness on Lebanon's security and the unity of his sons as well as keeping Lebanon's civil peace."

'Pattern of violence'

In the ongoing political crisis, all five Shiite Muslim ministers and one Christian in Siniora's 24-member Cabinet resigned last week over the creation of the international tribunal to probe the assassination of Hariri. (Full story)

U.N. investigators linked Syria to the death of Hariri and 22 other people on February, 14, 2005, when an explosion was set off near his motorcade. Damascus denies any involvement, and Hezbollah says Syria's accusers have no evidence to back up their claims.

Hariri's assassination led to a wave of anti-Syrian protests, dubbed the "Cedar Revolution," and the withdrawal of Syria's military from Lebanon. Syria had dominated Lebanon since 1976, when Syrian troops entered in the early days of Lebanon's civil war.