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Explosion rocks Beirut suburb | Explosion rocks Beirut suburb |
(35 minutes later) | |
A suspected bomb explosion has reportedly killed four people in a Hezbollah stronghold in a Shia-dominated southern suburb of Beirut. | |
Flames were seen pouring from the facade of a multi-storey building, with large plumes of smoke. | Flames were seen pouring from the facade of a multi-storey building, with large plumes of smoke. |
Local media quoted officials as saying the blast was caused by a suicide bomber. | |
There has been a spike in sectarian tension in Lebanon blamed on the conflict in neighbouring Syria. | There has been a spike in sectarian tension in Lebanon blamed on the conflict in neighbouring Syria. |
Hezbollah forces have been fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Lebanese Sunni Muslims tend to back the Syrian opposition. | Hezbollah forces have been fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Lebanese Sunni Muslims tend to back the Syrian opposition. |
The blast occurred in Arid Street in the Haret Hreik district. Large crowds gathered at the scene as Hezbollah's emergency services worked to extinguish the blaze. | |
Hezbollah sources quoted by the organisation's al-Manar TV said four people had been killed. Several more are reported to have been wounded. | |
Body parts thought to be those of the suicide bomber were scattered at the scene, Lebanon's national news agency reported. | |
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called a meeting of the government's emergency response committee. | |
It is the latest of several recent explosions in Lebanon. Five people were killed and many others injured by a bomb blast on 2 January in the same Beirut district. | |
Former minister Mohamad Chatah, a Sunni and a critic of Hezbollah, was killed with five others by a car bomb in December. | Former minister Mohamad Chatah, a Sunni and a critic of Hezbollah, was killed with five others by a car bomb in December. |
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