WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Preliminary evidence suggests the U.S. embassy car hit by a bomb blast that killed at least three people in Beirut this week was targeted, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

The Lebanese government put the death toll in Tuesday's blast at three but the State Department said four Beirut residents were killed. None worked for the embassy. The blast coincided with President George W. Bush's trip to the Middle East, though his trip does not include a stop in Lebanon.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States did not know who was responsible for the blast, which also slightly injured a local U.S. embassy driver, but said "preliminary evidence would indicate that it (the car) was targeted".

Asked what this evidence was, he said: "Just looking at the situation, the kind of car, the location -- I have not heard of any other potential targets in the vicinity at the time, any other political figures, government figures.

"We have taken appropriate security precautions commensurate with the idea that it was targeted," he added. But, he cautioned, "that is not a final conclusion."

He said a joint diplomatic and security team, including the FBI, was traveling to the area on Wednesday to investigate.

Washington has been a strong backer of the Beirut government in its power struggle with the Hezbollah-led opposition backed by Syria.

"We will continue to support and stand by the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora," McCormack said. "We will continue to support the expansion and deepening of Lebanese democracy." (Edited by Philip Barbara)

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