A car bomb damaged a US diplomatic car in Beirut yesterday, killing at least three people and wounding 16, and the US State Department said no Americans died in the blast.

The bomb sent a column of smoke into the sky, tore masonry from buildings and destroyed at least six cars in a Christian suburb north of Beirut, as well as damaging the armoured four-by-four embassy car.

The blast coincided with US President George W. Bush’s visit to Saudi Arabia as part of a week-long tour of US Middle East allies.

Mr Bush is not visiting Lebanon, though Washington has been a strong backer of the Beirut government in its power struggle with the Hizbollah-led opposition backed by Syria.

Lebanon has seen more than 30 explosions in the past three years, many hitting anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.

Members of the US-backed governing coalition who have blamed Damascus for previous attacks condemned the bombing but did not name any suspects.

Lebanon’s stability has also been rocked by attacks on UN peacekeepers in the south and an insurrection by al Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants in the north last year.