Gunmen Shoot, Kill Leading Muslim Cleric

Three masked gunmen shot dead a leading Muslim fundamentalist cleric on Thursday, jolting Lebanon’s efforts to improve its image from years of civil war.

Witnesses said the gunmen, two in a car and one on a motorbike, fired machine guns at Sheikh Nizar Halabi as he left his home to go to work. His 12-year-old son, Bilal, and his bodyguard and driver were all seriously wounded.

Halabi was a leader of a Sunni Muslim social welfare group.