BEIRUT - The US embassy in Lebanon commemorated the 25th anniversary Friday of the bombing of the diplomatic mission in Beirut in which 52 people were killed.

Charge d'affaires Michele Sison welcomed survivors and family members of the victims at an embassy ceremony also attended by Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Welch.

Welch, who was a desk officer for Lebanon at the State Department at the time of the attack on April 18, 1983, recalled his horror on learning of the bombing, at the time the deadliest ever on a US diplomatic mission.

"That attack was followed by a lot of other heartbreak," he said. "There was the attack against the marine barracks later that year in October, quickly followed by the attack on our embassy annexe in 1984.

"And the attacks continued."

The latest attack against a US target in Lebanon was a car bombing in January that left two embassy staff injured.

Welch reiterated Washington's support for the embattled Lebanese government, which has been locked in a long-running standoff with the Hezbollah-led opposition that has left the country without a president since November.

"Some may question our dedication, and assert that the United States 'withdrew' after the attacks in 1983," he said. "I've been working on Lebanon since then, and I know better.

"We may have moved, but we didn't leave."

In comments on Thursday, US President George W. Bush recalled the attack by the Islamic Jihad Organization, which US officials have said was a forerunner of Hezbollah, the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shiite militia which fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel.

"Since the Beirut attack, we and citizens of many countries have suffered more attacks at the hands of Hezbollah and other terrorists, backed by the regimes in Tehran and Damascus, which use terror and violence against innocent civilians," Bush said.

Welch, who arrived to Lebanon Thursday, has been meeting with rival leaders during his stay in a bid to help break the stalemate between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps.

Parliament is due to convene on Tuesday for an 18th attempt to elect a successor to pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud who stood down at the end of his term but all indicators are that the session will again be postponed.

The political crisis, the worst since the 1975-1990 civil war, is widely seen as an extension of the confrontation pitting the United States and its regional ally Saudi Arabia against Syria and Iran. -AFP