Saleh Aridi, a member of Lebanon's opposition Democratic party, was killed Wednesday in a car bomb explosion in the vicinity of Aley town, southeast of Beirut, officials said. "Aridi was killed in the explosion in Baysur, near Aley," a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The initial probe indicates that the bomb was placed inside his Mercedes."A Lebanese army spokesman said three other people were injured.The incident comes as Lebanon's political parties prepare for a national dialogue next week aimed at reconciling their differences, which in May brought the country close to civil war.

Aridi, in his 50s, was a top advisor to Druze leader Talal Arslan, a rival to Walid Jumblatt, a leading member of the Western-backed parliamentary majority.

The last car bombing in Lebanon dates back to January, when a senior intelligence officer investigating killings largely blamed on Syria was slain with three other people in the Lebanese capital.

That attack came as Lebanon was is grappling with its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

But in May feuding political parties struck an agreement in the Qatari capital Doha that led to the army chief Michel Suleiman being elected president and the formation of a national unity cabinet.BEIRUT (AFP)