BEIRUT, Lebanon - Fears mounted in Lebanon Wednesday of a new cycle of political murders after the slaying of an anti-Damascus critic in what Washington said was a bid to intimidate Lebanese as they seek to break free of Syria's grip.

The killing of veteran former Communist Party leader George Hawi in a Beirut car bombing Tuesday came at a crucial time for Lebanon, which has yet to form a new government following elections won by an anti-Syrian alliance.

"Who's next?" asked leading An-Nahar newspaper ominously, recounting the list of political figures killed or injured in attacks over the past months, the most prominent being ex-premier Rafiq Hariri who was blown up in a February bombing.

Many in Lebanon believe the killings are the work of the Syrian-Lebanese intelligence apparatus, echoing charges by anti-Syrian politicians -- backed by Washington -- that Damascus agents stayed on after its April troop pullout.

"These attacks are aimed at destabilising Lebanon," said political analyst Joe Bahout. "It's a way of paralysing the political classes and intellectuals."

While Washington stopped short of directly blaming Syria for the latest attack, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bluntly told Damascus to "knock it off," accusing the regime of sowing instability in its smaller neighbour.

"These are not random killings, these are targeted assassinations of political figures," charged White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "It is clearly an attempt to intimidate the people of Lebanon and to undermine progress toward a free and democratic future."

The criticisms constituted one of Washington's most explicit accusations of Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs since Damascus pulled its remaining troops out of the country two months ago, ending a 29-year military presence.

The four-round elections which wrapped up on Sunday, less than two months after the pullout, created a parliament that for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war is not controlled by pro-Syrian factions.

But the administration of US President George W. Bush has questioned whether Syria has withdrawn all its intelligence officers and voiced concern about the possible existence of a "hit list" of anti-Syrian figures targeted for assassination.

Hawi's killing marred the election victory by the alliance headed by Hariri's son Saad Hariri that won a parliamentary majority pledging to turn the page on years of all-pervasive Syrian domination.

In October, Marwan Hamadeh, deputy head of the socialist party of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, was seriously injured in a car bomb attack and just three weeks ago prominent anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir was killed when his car blew up in a neighbourhood of mostly Christian east Beirut.

"Lebanon is going to pay dearly" for wanting to become master of its own destiny, Jumblatt himself warned. "They are going to kill us one after the other."

The opposition has called on the UN Security Council to expand its probe of Hariri's assassination to those that have followed.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan condemned the Hawi killing and underscored support for the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon, while Britain's Foreign Office called on the Lebanese authorities to "mount full, thorough, and transparent investigations" to bring his killers to justice.

The latest bloodshed has added to the challenges ahead for a new government which will need to restore stability and confidence to a shrinking, heavily indebted economy and put relations with Syria on a new footing.

Lebanon's 128-member parliament is due to hold its first session next Tuesday to elect a new speaker, a position reserved for Shiite Muslims under Lebanon's sectarian political system, and other positions.

But a new premier to succeed caretaker Prime Minister Nagib Miqati will only be designated after consultations with MPs by pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, although Hariri is seen as the frontrunner.

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