5 killed, 75 injured in Beirut blast The death toll from huge explosion in Beirut rose to 5, including former finance minister Shatah. Shatah was killed immediately when a booby trapped car exploded in downtown Beirut. Beirut has been hit by several deadly attacks over the past months. BEIRUT, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the huge explosion in Lebanese capital Beirut rose to 5 killed, including former finance minister Mohammad Shatah, and over 75 others were injured, according to Georges Kettaneh, the operation director of the Lebanese Red Cross. Kettaneh confirmed to LBCI TV that the Red Cross ambulances transported the bodies of the killed and the injured to the nearby hospitals. Shatah, adviser to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was killed Friday, when a booby trapped car exploded while his convoy was passing through downtown Beirut. A local security source confirmed to Xinhua that Shatah was killed immediately when a Nissan type booby trapped car exploded near the Starco complex downtown Beirut at 9:30 in the morning. The source added that between 60 and 75 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast. Beirut has been hit by several deadly attacks over the past months, including twin suicide bombings in November that targeted the Iranian embassy and bombings in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The raging war in neighboring Syria has deeply divided the Lebanese and triggered political tensions and sectarian clashes in the country. Blast targeting former FM causes heavy casualties in Beirut BEIRUT, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Former Lebanese finance minister Mohammad Shatah was targeted in a booby trapped car explosion in downtown Beirut Friday at 9:30 a.m. MTV reported. The TV channel said that Shatah's convoy was targeted while on the way to former Primi Minister Saad Hariri's residence downtown Beirut to attend a meeting for the March 14 opposition camp.