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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Blasts in Southern Beirut ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Blasts in Southern Beirut
(about 2 hours later)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two suicide bombers carried out a coordinated attack Thursday in a crowded residential area of southern Beirut controlled by the Hezbollah militia, and the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 43 people had been killed and more than 200 wounded. BEIRUT, Lebanon — A mostly Shiite Muslim residential area of southern Beirut was terrorized on Thursday by a fiery double suicide bombing that ripped through a busy shopping district at rush hour. The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least 43 people had been killed and more than 200 wounded.
The Islamic State group, which controls parts of neighboring Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted Shiite Muslims, whom it views as apostates, and members of Hezbollah, a Shiite group that backs the Syrian government. The Islamic State extremist group, which controls parts of neighboring Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the worst in years to strike Lebanon. The group portrayed its motives as baldly sectarian, saying it had targeted Shiite Muslims, whom it views as apostates. It mentioned almost as an afterthought that it had targeted Hezbollah, the Shiite militant organization that backs the Syrian government in the civil war raging next door.
It was the worst bombing assault in years to traumatize Beirut, which has endured such attacks periodically. The assault shattered a relative calm that prevailed in recent months despite the Syrian civil war raging next door. Hezbollah maintains tight security control in the district that was hit, and the bombing seemed aimed at hurting the group by attacking civilians in an area where it has many supporters. But the stricken area also typifies working-class Beirut, where Palestinians, Christians and Syrian refugees (mostly Sunnis) live, work and shop.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar news service and other Lebanese news media said the bombers struck during the evening rush hour, apparently to maximize casualties. The Lebanese Army said in a later statement that the body of a third bomber was found near one of the blast sites but that his explosives belt was still largely intact. While Beirut has endured such attacks periodically, the assault shattered a relative calm that had prevailed in recent months. It also showed Lebanon’s vulnerability to the vindictive wrath of the Islamic State.
The attack took place in the Bourj al-Barajneh neighborhood of southern Beirut, an area that includes a Palestinian refugee camp and that has absorbed many Syrian refugees in the past four years. The Lebanese Army said in a statement that the bombers had struck at 6 p.m., during the evening rush hour, apparently to maximize casualties. The army said that the body of a third bomber had been found near one of the blast sites but that his explosives belt was still largely intact.
The explosions hit a bustling area with narrow streets, many small shops and vendors selling fruits and vegetables from stalls and pushcarts. Television stations broadcast images of people carrying the wounded away from flaming rubble. The blasts went off near a bakery, and just yards from a hospital. The attack took place in the Bourj al-Barajneh neighborhood of southern Beirut, an area that includes a Palestinian refugee camp and that has absorbed many Syrian refugees.
The Health Ministry said that by evening the death toll had reached at least 43, with 239 wounded. Al Manar said children were among the victims. It is a bustling area with narrow streets, many small shops and vendors selling fruits and vegetables from stalls and pushcarts. Television stations broadcast images of people carrying the wounded away from flaming rubble. The blasts went off near a bakery, and just yards from a hospital.
The Health Ministry said that by evening, the death toll had reached at least 43, with 239 wounded. Al Manar, Hezbollah’s news website, said children were among the victims.
It was the second time in two weeks that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed to have struck, through civilian targets, the countries and groups fighting it in Syria. The Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate claimed responsibility for the Oct. 31 destruction of a jetliner full of Russian vacationers in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Russia, along with Hezbollah and Iran, is a crucial ally of the Syrian government and says it is fighting the Islamic State in Syria. Talks are set to begin this weekend in Vienna in a renewed international effort to find a political solution to the Syria conflict, now in its fifth year.
Thursday was also punctuated by new offensives in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State. American-backed Kurdish forces are confronting the group in both Iraq and Syria; at the same time, the Syrian government, Hezbollah and other allied forces have made advances against the Islamic State.
Hussein Khalil, a political aide to the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, visited the scene and called the attackers “beasts,” according to local news reports. Lebanon’s prime minister, Tammam Salam, also condemned the bombings. The government declared Friday a day of national mourning and announced that schools would be closed.Hussein Khalil, a political aide to the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, visited the scene and called the attackers “beasts,” according to local news reports. Lebanon’s prime minister, Tammam Salam, also condemned the bombings. The government declared Friday a day of national mourning and announced that schools would be closed.
The American Embassy in Beirut issued a statement saying that the United States “strongly condemns heinous attack” and that officials extend “condolences to victims’ families, wish speedy recovery to wounded.” The American Embassy in Beirut issued a statement saying that the United States “strongly condemns heinous attack” and that officials extended “condolences to victims’ families, wish speedy recovery to wounded.”
The attack was carried out two days before talks were set to begin in Vienna in a renewed international effort to find a political solution to the Syria conflict, now in its fifth year. It also came on a day punctuated by new offensives in Syria and Iraq against the extremist Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL. American-backed Kurdish forces are confronting the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria; at the same time, the Syrian government, Hezbollah and other allied forces have recently made advances against the Islamic State. Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Beirut and other Lebanese cities have been subjected to bombings and other attacks carried out in the name of rival Syrian factions. Hezbollah, an influential political power in Lebanon that is regarded by Israel and the United States as a terrorist organization, has sent thousands of fighters to provide pivotal support to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
An image-savvy group, the Islamic State has often carried out spectacular attacks at times when it has suffered battlefield losses, seeking to rally supporters and distract from its defeats. While Hezbollah and the United States are nominally both fighting the Islamic State, they remain deeply at odds and carry on their military campaigns separately. American officials say the Syrian government, backed by Russia, Hezbollah and Iran, is primarily targeting Mr. Assad’s other opponents and not the Islamic State. The pro-Assad alliance says the United States is not serious about fighting the Islamic State.
Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Beirut and other Lebanese cities have been subjected to bombings and other attacks carried out in the name of rival Syrian factions. Hezbollah, an influential political power in Lebanon that is regarded by Israel and the United States as a terrorist organization, is a major supporter of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, as is Iran, an ally of Hezbollah.
While Hezbollah and the United States nominally are both fighting the Islamic State, they remain deeply at odds and carry on their military campaigns separately. American officials say the Syrian government, backed by Russia, Hezbollah and Iran, is primarily targeting Mr. Assad’s other opponents and not the Islamic State. The pro-Assad alliance says the United States is not serious about fighting the Islamic State.
A double bombing last year near an Iranian cultural center in the Hezbollah enclave killed at least five people and wounded dozens. An offshoot of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for that attack and said it would carry out more bombings against Hezbollah until the group withdrew its fighters from Syria.A double bombing last year near an Iranian cultural center in the Hezbollah enclave killed at least five people and wounded dozens. An offshoot of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for that attack and said it would carry out more bombings against Hezbollah until the group withdrew its fighters from Syria.
The attack on Thursday appeared to be the worst in terms of casualties since Aug. 23, 2013, when bombs hit two mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds.The attack on Thursday appeared to be the worst in terms of casualties since Aug. 23, 2013, when bombs hit two mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds.