BEIRUT, Dec. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The anti-Syrian Christian parliament member Gebran Tueni was killed in a car bomb explosion in eastern Beirut on Monday, medics said.

    His driver was also killed in the blast, which altogether killed four people and wounded ten others in the Christian-dominated Mekalis area, medics said.

    The blast also set nearby cars ablaze and damaged part of some buildings, witnesses said.

    Police have cordoned off the area as rescue teams arrived to take the wounded to hospitals.

    Car bombs are frequently used in previous similar attacks in the country.

    Lebanon has been gripped in a spate of bombing attacks since former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who fell foul of Syria, was killed in a massive car bombing in central Beirut on Feb. 14.

    These attacks mainly targeted anti-Syrian officials or public figures.

    Damascus has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Hariri killing, but an interim UN report on the investigation into the assassination implicated Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the incident. Enditem