Shiite Group Suspected in Bombing

French authorities suspect a Lebanese Shiits organization was responsible for Saturday night’s sombing of a passenger train and the Marseilles railway station in Which four people were killed and scores were seriously wounded. A Lebanese Shiite group reportedly warned France last December 21 that it had 10 days to withdraw its troops from Beirut. The Shiites warned that if their threat was not heeded they would “seek revenge for Baalbek” and “hit France where it expects it least.”

The Shiite warning, which was kept secret until a private French radio station broadcast its contents yesterday, referred to the French air attacks against Shiite and Syrian-backed militias near the city of Baalbek last October in retaliation for the suicide attacks against French and U.S. army bases in Beirut. Close to 300 U.S. and French servicemen died in the car bomb attacks.

The French government and Interior Minister Gaston Defferre, who is also the Mayor of Marseilles, has refused to pinpoint responsibility for the Saturday night tragedy. The government said it is waiting for the police to come up with substantial leads before making any accusation.

Two powerful bombs exploded simultaneously while President Francis Mitterrand was delivering his New Year’s message. One bomb exploded in a train in the south of France killing two people and wounding seven. The other, which exploded in the locker room of the Marseilles station, killed two and wounded 47, most of whom are in critical condition.

Since the French air raid, the Shiite and several other Moslem organizations have demanded the withdrawal from Beirut of the multinational force, especially the American and French contingents. France, which had previously been highly popular with all the warring factions in Lebanon, has since then been considered a hostile force by the Shiites and other Moslems.