BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) – Rafik Hariri, a billionaire who helped rebuildhis country after decades of war but resigned as prime minister lastfall after a sharp dispute with Syria, was killed Monday in a massivebomb explosion that tore through his motorcade.Atleast nine other people were killed and 100 wounded in the blast. Itraised immediate fears that Lebanon – largely peaceful since the 1990end of its civil war – was headed toward a new and bloody chapter inits differences with Syria, which maintains about 15,000 troops in thecountry.At least 20 cars were set on fire in a blast thatdevastated the front of the famous St. George Hotel, blowing offbalconies, and damaged a British bank and the Phoenicia Hotel along theMediterranean waterfront.The 12:55 p.m. (5:55 a.m. EST)explosion was so powerful thatHariri’s motorcade of bulletproofvehicles was left a burning wreck anda 30-foot crater was gouged in thestreet. It was not immediately knownwhether the explosives had beenplanted in a car or a building.Former Economy MinisterBassel Fleihan, a member of parliament inHariri’s bloc, was severelywounded and admitted to the intensive careunit of the AmericanUniversity Hospital, said another pro-Haririlegislator, Atef Majdalani.Hariri’s own Future TV reported thatFleihan was in critical conditionand the hospital was preparing tothoud, remain in office as presidentfor a longer period.The United States has strongly criticized Syria’s interference in the country.Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, served 10 of 14 years in the postwar period starting in 1992 — winning three separate elections.Anemergency Cabinet meeting was called and Lebanon’s supremedefensecouncil – security Cabinet ministers, top leaders and militaryofficials- were in session at the presidential palace, a spokesmansaid.SyrianPresident Bashar Assad said he “condemned this horrible criminalaction,” according to SANA, Syria’s official news agency.Assad urgedthe Lebanese people to reject those who plant “schism among thepeople” during this “critical situation.”Hariri’sassassination removes a main political buffer in a country dividedamong an opposition strongly opposed to Syria’s role, and thepro-Syrian government camp.The Lebanese National NewsAgency, quoting a statement from American University Hospital, saidHariri was dead on arrival, his body mutilated in the massive explosionthat shook buildings in the citycenter and was heard in outlying hillsoverlooking the Lebanese capital.Nine other people werealso killed in the massive blast and 100were wounded, the news agencysaid. Several of Hariri’s bodyguards were among those hurt or killed,Lebanese legislator Bassem Yammout told The Associated Press at thescene.Bystanders and ambulance workers made crudestretchers to carrythe wounded to vehicles to take them to nearbyhospitals. TV videoshowed several men dragging the body of a victimpartially covered by a brown blanket through the rubble-strewn streetbefore letting go of his arms and letting him fall to the ground.Flames still licked from his body, his face disfigured by burns.Several young women with blood running down their faces had to be helped from the scene.Heavilyarmed security forces cordoned off the area with yellow tape as rescueworkers and investigators searched the scene for casualties or clues towhat caused the huge explosion.Rubble and twisted debriscovered a road lined with burning cars, with smoke enveloping the areaas firefighters carrying hoses raced todouse flames.Hariri’ssupporters quickly took to the streets, chanting praise for him outsidethe hospital. In his hometown of Sidon, supporters blocked roads andburned tires.There was no credible claim ofresponsibility. Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera said its Beirut officereceived a call from somebody whosaid a previously unknown group hadkilled Hariri.Explosions in Beirut – while common during the 1975-90 civil war – have become rare since the conflict ended.InOctober, however, amid rising tensions between the government andopposition groups, a car bomb seriously injured an oppositionpolitician and killed his driver in Beirut.A self-madebillionaire, he became prime minister in 1992 under the terms of a 1989peace deal that required the premier to be a Sunni Muslim. He serveduntil 1998, and again from 2000 until his resignation in October. Hewas considered to be in the opposition. He has been in a rivalry withLahoud for years.Hariri, a construction tycoon who made his fortune in Saudi Arabia, held joint Lebanese-Saudi citizenship even as premier.Hewas born in Sidon, Lebanon, first became involved with politics came asa student drawn to Arab nationalist ideas at BeirutUniversity in the1960s.Upon graduating, he moved to Saudi Arabia to teachhigh school math, but quickly left to work in the immensely profitableconstruction business that boomed along with the kingdom’s oil wealth,Hefounded his own firm, befriended one of the Saudi princes who laterbecame King Fahd, and was successful in winning contracts forofficetowers, hospitals and palaces.A French firm he lateracquired, Oger, became one of the largest construction businesses inthe Mideast. His personal wealth had beenestimated at $4 billion.DuringLebanon’s civil war, Hariri funded charitable ventures,and, when theviolence subsided, dispatched trucks from his construction company toclear debris from the streets.Later, in government, hewas criticized for allegedly handing reconstruction contracts to firmshe had financial dealings with.Hariri enjoyed the backingof Western governments; in 2002, hemet with President Bush inWashington, and is a friend of French President Jacques Chirac.Asprime minister, Hariri reportedly traveled in an armored limousineequipped with a device that jammed mobile phones to preventassassination attempts by remote controlled bombs.