Beirut, Lebanon ? A car bomb Friday killed one of Lebanon’s top terrorism investigators who was probing assassinations of prominent anti-Syrian figures and a series of other attacks in recent years.

Capt. Wissam Eid, 31, worked for the police intelligence agency which is closely tied to the Western-backed government and had survived two previous assassination attempts. The attack also killed his bodyguard and three passers-by and wounded 37 people, police said.

A huge plume of black smoke rose from the site of the attack in the Lebanese capital. Television footage showed orange flames shooting up into the sky, as several cars burned and firefighters struggled to put out the flames.

Graphic televised images showed a body slumped behind the wheel of a delivery truck ripped apart by the blast and two other bodies on the ground.

The bombing set a dozen vehicles ablaze and ripped a crater in the asphalt 12 feet wide and 6 feet deep. It shattered windows hundreds of feet away and knocked motorcyclists off roads.

Lebanon is deeply and bitterly divided along pro- and anti-Syrian lines. A prolonged crisis has left the country without a president since Nov. 23 because the two camps cannot agree on a candidate or the makeup of a future government.

Since 2005, the country has seen a series of bombings including the assassinations of eight prominent anti-Syrian figures.

As a senior officer in the intelligence department, Eid had handled “very important” files including “all those having to do with the terrorist bombings,” national Police Chief Brig. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said