Former Lebanese Finance Minister Mohamad Shatah was killed along with four others in an explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday.
According to security sources, the explosion targeted the former minister’s convoy which was on its way to a meeting.
Shatah was an adviser to the former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a Sunni Muslim. His car was seen completely destroyed by the bomb blast.
The sound of the blast was heard across the city at around 9:40 a.m. Ambulances could be seen taking victims from the area by eye witnesses.
A restaurant and a coffee shop were also destroyed in the blast, and several cars were on fire.
The city has gone in to a lockdown with police blocking off roads across Beirut.