A major car bomb in Beirut has killed six people, including former Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah, a top figure in the Lebanese opposition.

The opposition leader Saad Hariri, suggested that Hezbollah was behind the killing, linking it to past assassinations. Hezbollah denied involvement, as did the Syrian government.

Other former Lebanese officials also saw this as unlikely, suggesting the assassination focused on Shatah as a Sunni moderate, and aimed at increasing radicalism in the Sunni-dominated Future Movement.

With no claims of responsibility it is too early to speculate, but Shatah was a major politician in Tripoli, where sectarian violence has been growing, and moderates on both sides have found themselves less welcome.