This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34795797
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Beirut attacks: Suicide bombers kill dozens in Shia suburb | Beirut attacks: Suicide bombers kill dozens in Shia suburb |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least 37 people have been killed and 181 wounded in two suicide bomb attacks in a residential area of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, officials say. | At least 37 people have been killed and 181 wounded in two suicide bomb attacks in a residential area of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, officials say. |
| The bombers blew themselves up in a busy street in the southern suburb of Burj al-Barajneh, a stronghold of the Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement. | The bombers blew themselves up in a busy street in the southern suburb of Burj al-Barajneh, a stronghold of the Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement. |
| The Sunni jihadist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility, but there has been no independent confirmation. | The Sunni jihadist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility, but there has been no independent confirmation. |
| It is the deadliest bombing in Beirut since the civil war ended 25 years ago. | It is the deadliest bombing in Beirut since the civil war ended 25 years ago. |
| Prime Minister Tammam Salam condemned the attacks as "unjustifiable" and called on Lebanon's rival factions to unite against "plans to create strife". | Prime Minister Tammam Salam condemned the attacks as "unjustifiable" and called on Lebanon's rival factions to unite against "plans to create strife". |
| 'Innocents targeted' | 'Innocents targeted' |
| Two bombers blew themselves up a short distance from each other in a street in Burj al-Barajneh at around 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT). | Two bombers blew themselves up a short distance from each other in a street in Burj al-Barajneh at around 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT). |
| One security source told the Associated Press that the first bomber detonated his explosive vest outside a Shia mosque, while the second blew himself up inside a nearby bakery. | |
| The body of a third suicide bomber was found nearby. He was apparently killed by the second blast before he could detonate his own explosive vest. | The body of a third suicide bomber was found nearby. He was apparently killed by the second blast before he could detonate his own explosive vest. |
| "I'd just arrived at the shops when the blast went off. I carried four bodies with my own hands, three women and a man, a friend of mine," one witness told a local television station. | "I'd just arrived at the shops when the blast went off. I carried four bodies with my own hands, three women and a man, a friend of mine," one witness told a local television station. |
| Another said: "When the second blast went off, I thought the world had ended." | Another said: "When the second blast went off, I thought the world had ended." |
| IS subsequently issued a statement saying that it was behind the bombings. It identified the three attackers as two Palestinians and a Syrian. | IS subsequently issued a statement saying that it was behind the bombings. It identified the three attackers as two Palestinians and a Syrian. |
| Hezbollah vowed to continue its fight against "terrorists", warning of a "long war" against its enemies, according to the Reuters news agency. | Hezbollah vowed to continue its fight against "terrorists", warning of a "long war" against its enemies, according to the Reuters news agency. |
| "They targeted civilians, worshippers, women and the elderly. It only targeted those innocent people. This is a Satanic terrorist act, carried out by apostates," Hezbollah MP Bilal Farhat told AP. | "They targeted civilians, worshippers, women and the elderly. It only targeted those innocent people. This is a Satanic terrorist act, carried out by apostates," Hezbollah MP Bilal Farhat told AP. |
| The group's strongholds in southern Beirut were the target of a series of bombings in 2013 and 2014 mostly claimed by Sunni jihadist militants -who denounced Hezbollah's decision to send fighters to neighbouring Syria to prop up President Bashar al-Assad. | The group's strongholds in southern Beirut were the target of a series of bombings in 2013 and 2014 mostly claimed by Sunni jihadist militants -who denounced Hezbollah's decision to send fighters to neighbouring Syria to prop up President Bashar al-Assad. |
| In recent weeks, Hezbollah has sent reinforcements to Syria in support of government offensives in northern areas held by rebel forces or IS. | In recent weeks, Hezbollah has sent reinforcements to Syria in support of government offensives in northern areas held by rebel forces or IS. |
| BBC Arab affairs analyst Sebastian Usher says it is no surprise that IS has claimed these bombings, but the ferocity will once again reawaken the spectre of Lebanon's 15-year civil war. | BBC Arab affairs analyst Sebastian Usher says it is no surprise that IS has claimed these bombings, but the ferocity will once again reawaken the spectre of Lebanon's 15-year civil war. |
| So far the country - locked in political stalemate and with a crisis over uncollected rubbish having mobilised mass protests in the summer - has managed to hold onto its fragile stability, he adds. | So far the country - locked in political stalemate and with a crisis over uncollected rubbish having mobilised mass protests in the summer - has managed to hold onto its fragile stability, he adds. |