A Lebanese man held up a branch of the HSBCbank in Beirut and threatened to blow himself up, in protest against the war in Iraq. Samir Abdel Karim Berro surrendered after negotiations involving the Interior Minister Elias Murr and anti-terrorist officers. As part of the agreement he was permitted to read out a statement, in which he claimed to be acting in defence of 'the people of Iraq and the people of Palestine'. One of the bank employees, speaking to AFP, reported that Berro had expressed the aim of striking at UK interests in Lebanon. Several days earlier, a small explosion occurred at the British Council in Beirut, causing minor damage. A branch of KFC, the US fast-food chain, was stormed during anti-war protests in Tripoli the previous week.