This article is from the source 'nytimes' 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.nytimes.com/2014/01/03/world/middleeast/Beirut-Hezbollah-explosion.html
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Deadly Bombing in Beirut Suburb, a Hezbollah Stronghold, Raises Tensions | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — The second deadly car bomb to strike the Beirut area in less than a week exploded on Thursday in a southern suburb of residential apartment buildings that is home to top Hezbollah offices and heavily populated with the group’s supporters. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — The second deadly car bomb to strike the Beirut area in less than a week exploded on Thursday in a southern suburb of residential apartment buildings that is home to top Hezbollah offices and heavily populated with the group’s supporters. |
| The blast created a black column of smoke visible across the city, shattered windows 11 floors up and hurled debris hundreds of feet. It accelerated the tempo of political violence, which is mostly fueled by deep splits between Lebanon’s Sunnis and Shiites that have been inflamed by the civil war in neighboring Syria. | The blast created a black column of smoke visible across the city, shattered windows 11 floors up and hurled debris hundreds of feet. It accelerated the tempo of political violence, which is mostly fueled by deep splits between Lebanon’s Sunnis and Shiites that have been inflamed by the civil war in neighboring Syria. |
| Lebanon’s health ministry said at least four people were killed in the suburb, Haret Hreik, and more than 70 were wounded. The state-run National News Agency said that human remains were found in a car near the blast site but that authorities had not determined whether they belonged to a suicide bomber. | Lebanon’s health ministry said at least four people were killed in the suburb, Haret Hreik, and more than 70 were wounded. The state-run National News Agency said that human remains were found in a car near the blast site but that authorities had not determined whether they belonged to a suicide bomber. |
| The explosion came six days after a car bomb killed a prominent member of the Future Movement, Hezbollah’s main political rival, who had openly criticized the group. And it came a day after reports of the arrest of a Saudi militant who leads a Lebanon-based affiliate of Al Qaeda, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in November near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. Iran is an ally of Hezbollah. | The explosion came six days after a car bomb killed a prominent member of the Future Movement, Hezbollah’s main political rival, who had openly criticized the group. And it came a day after reports of the arrest of a Saudi militant who leads a Lebanon-based affiliate of Al Qaeda, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in November near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. Iran is an ally of Hezbollah. |
| The recent bombings follow a string of similar attacks related to the nearly three-year-old conflict in Syria, which has aggravated sectarian tensions in Lebanon and raised fears of wider armed conflict here. Hezbollah, a Shiite movement, has sent fighters to support the Syrian Army, while Lebanon’s Sunnis largely support the Syrian rebels, and some have shipped them weapons or crossed the border to join them on the battlefield. | The recent bombings follow a string of similar attacks related to the nearly three-year-old conflict in Syria, which has aggravated sectarian tensions in Lebanon and raised fears of wider armed conflict here. Hezbollah, a Shiite movement, has sent fighters to support the Syrian Army, while Lebanon’s Sunnis largely support the Syrian rebels, and some have shipped them weapons or crossed the border to join them on the battlefield. |
| Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday’s bombing, residents said they believed it was linked to Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, and some said they had expected an attack. | Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday’s bombing, residents said they believed it was linked to Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, and some said they had expected an attack. |
| “We didn’t know if it would be today or tomorrow or when, but we knew we would be targeted because of Hezbollah,” said Ali Hassan, an accounting student, who accused Syrian rebels or their sympathizers in the attack. | “We didn’t know if it would be today or tomorrow or when, but we knew we would be targeted because of Hezbollah,” said Ali Hassan, an accounting student, who accused Syrian rebels or their sympathizers in the attack. |
| “When they get smacked in Syria, they come and hit us here,” he said. | “When they get smacked in Syria, they come and hit us here,” he said. |
| Despite the attack’s apparently political nature, it struck civilians hardest. | Despite the attack’s apparently political nature, it struck civilians hardest. |
| Sitting outside his apartment building across the street from the blast, Mohammed Hussein, a retired barber, said he had been napping when the explosion blew his bedroom windows from their frames and showered him with glass and other debris. “There is no more security anywhere in Lebanon,” he said, still shaken. “No one knows what is going to happen to this country.” | Sitting outside his apartment building across the street from the blast, Mohammed Hussein, a retired barber, said he had been napping when the explosion blew his bedroom windows from their frames and showered him with glass and other debris. “There is no more security anywhere in Lebanon,” he said, still shaken. “No one knows what is going to happen to this country.” |
| While the neighborhood is residential, Hezbollah dominates the area. Posters of the group’s armed members who have died in battle adorn lampposts, and the group’s media office and construction company are nearby, as is the Lebanon office of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. | While the neighborhood is residential, Hezbollah dominates the area. Posters of the group’s armed members who have died in battle adorn lampposts, and the group’s media office and construction company are nearby, as is the Lebanon office of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. |
| After the blast, security forces deployed near the site and Hezbollah security agents with walkie-talkies blocked roads and patrolled nearby streets, checking the identification of passers-by. One man wearing a yellow armband bearing the group’s insignia told reporters they needed permits to work in the area and told residents they were forbidden to speak with them. | After the blast, security forces deployed near the site and Hezbollah security agents with walkie-talkies blocked roads and patrolled nearby streets, checking the identification of passers-by. One man wearing a yellow armband bearing the group’s insignia told reporters they needed permits to work in the area and told residents they were forbidden to speak with them. |
| Fearing more violence, leaders of the divergent factions in the country’s complex politics rushed to condemn the bombing. | Fearing more violence, leaders of the divergent factions in the country’s complex politics rushed to condemn the bombing. |
| The March 14th coalition, which includes the Future Movement, said in a statement that each victim was “a martyr mourned by all Lebanese.” The head of the Future Movement, Saad Hariri, a former prime minister, said that those killed were victims not only of terrorism, but also of “the involvement in foreign wars, especially the Syrian war.” | The March 14th coalition, which includes the Future Movement, said in a statement that each victim was “a martyr mourned by all Lebanese.” The head of the Future Movement, Saad Hariri, a former prime minister, said that those killed were victims not only of terrorism, but also of “the involvement in foreign wars, especially the Syrian war.” |
| Although the Future Movement officially disavows the use of violence, some members have smuggled arms to the Syrian rebels, and its leaders have lost ground to hard-line clerics who call for attacks on Hezbollah. | Although the Future Movement officially disavows the use of violence, some members have smuggled arms to the Syrian rebels, and its leaders have lost ground to hard-line clerics who call for attacks on Hezbollah. |
| In recent weeks, Sunni fighters have said in interviews and video statements that they plan to escalate attacks on Hezbollah interests in Lebanon. | In recent weeks, Sunni fighters have said in interviews and video statements that they plan to escalate attacks on Hezbollah interests in Lebanon. |
| In a video statement last week, a cleric acting as a spokesman for the Abdullah Azzam Brigades said the group would not stop its bombings until Hezbollah withdrew its fighters from Syria and the Lebanese authorities released youths jailed for militant activities. Lebanese officials expressed concern after the arrest of the group’s leader, Majid bin Muhammad al-Majid, that it could lead to retaliatory attacks. | In a video statement last week, a cleric acting as a spokesman for the Abdullah Azzam Brigades said the group would not stop its bombings until Hezbollah withdrew its fighters from Syria and the Lebanese authorities released youths jailed for militant activities. Lebanese officials expressed concern after the arrest of the group’s leader, Majid bin Muhammad al-Majid, that it could lead to retaliatory attacks. |
| In an interview last month, a Syrian rebel commander said via Skype that some insurgent groups had already arrived in Lebanon. “They want to attack all the regime’s allies in Lebanon,” the commander said, asking not to be identified by name for protection from reprisals. “Lebanon became their arena.” | In an interview last month, a Syrian rebel commander said via Skype that some insurgent groups had already arrived in Lebanon. “They want to attack all the regime’s allies in Lebanon,” the commander said, asking not to be identified by name for protection from reprisals. “Lebanon became their arena.” |
| In another recent interview, a Syrian opposition activist reached in Aleppo, the embattled city in northern Syria, said that 125 fighters were preparing to go to Lebanon to attack Hezbollah areas. They included fighters from two Syrian affiliates of Al Qaeda, said the activist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. | In another recent interview, a Syrian opposition activist reached in Aleppo, the embattled city in northern Syria, said that 125 fighters were preparing to go to Lebanon to attack Hezbollah areas. They included fighters from two Syrian affiliates of Al Qaeda, said the activist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. |
| Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has said in speeches that the group is fighting in Syria against takfiris, meaning Sunni extremists who consider their opponents infidels. He has called them a threat not just to Shiites, but to the entire region. | Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has said in speeches that the group is fighting in Syria against takfiris, meaning Sunni extremists who consider their opponents infidels. He has called them a threat not just to Shiites, but to the entire region. |
| Residential areas in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah holds enormous influence, were bombed twice last year. An attack in August near the site of Thursday’s bombing killed at least 18 people. Eight days later, twin car bombs exploded outside Sunni mosques in the northern city of Tripoli, killing dozens and raising the specter of reprisal attacks. | Residential areas in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah holds enormous influence, were bombed twice last year. An attack in August near the site of Thursday’s bombing killed at least 18 people. Eight days later, twin car bombs exploded outside Sunni mosques in the northern city of Tripoli, killing dozens and raising the specter of reprisal attacks. |
Hwaida Saad and Mohammad Ghannam contributed reporting. | Hwaida Saad and Mohammad Ghannam contributed reporting. |