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| Lebanon 'suicide bomber' strikes southern Beirut | Lebanon 'suicide bomber' strikes southern Beirut |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A suicide bomber has blown himself up in a southern district of the Lebanese capital Beirut wounding several people, officials say. | A suicide bomber has blown himself up in a southern district of the Lebanese capital Beirut wounding several people, officials say. |
| The interior minister said the bomber detonated explosives in a minibus during rush hour in Choueifat district. | The interior minister said the bomber detonated explosives in a minibus during rush hour in Choueifat district. |
| The area is home to a largely Christian and Druze population. | The area is home to a largely Christian and Druze population. |
| There has been a spate of bomb attacks in Beirut in recent weeks largely blamed on the rise of sectarian tension over the conflict in Syria. | There has been a spate of bomb attacks in Beirut in recent weeks largely blamed on the rise of sectarian tension over the conflict in Syria. |
| "A man wearing an explosive belt boarded a public minibus in Choueifat and blew himself up," Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Lebanon's Mayadeen television channel. | "A man wearing an explosive belt boarded a public minibus in Choueifat and blew himself up," Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Lebanon's Mayadeen television channel. |
| He said at least one person had been killed in the blast, but it was unclear if that was in addition to the suicide bomber. | He said at least one person had been killed in the blast, but it was unclear if that was in addition to the suicide bomber. |
| Ayad Monzer of the Lebanese Red Cross said at least two people, a man and a women, were wounded in the blast. | |
| Lebanese TV has aired footage from the scene of the blast showing the wrecked chassis of a roofless vehicle surrounded by onlookers. | Lebanese TV has aired footage from the scene of the blast showing the wrecked chassis of a roofless vehicle surrounded by onlookers. |
| The army has reportedly set up a security cordon around the blast site and started to investigate the circumstances of the attack. | |
| The target of the attack was not immediately clear. Hezbollah has a significant presence in the area and in adjacent Shia areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut. | The target of the attack was not immediately clear. Hezbollah has a significant presence in the area and in adjacent Shia areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut. |
| One bystander told Reuters news agency the minibus had been heading in the direction of these areas when the explosives detonated. | |
| It comes one day after three people were killed in another car bomb attack in Hermel, a Hezbollah stronghold near Lebanon's northern border with Syria. | It comes one day after three people were killed in another car bomb attack in Hermel, a Hezbollah stronghold near Lebanon's northern border with Syria. |
| Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been stoked by Hezbollah's support for the government forces in Syria, with dozens of people killed in a series of car bombings in Beirut and Tripoli in recent months. | Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been stoked by Hezbollah's support for the government forces in Syria, with dozens of people killed in a series of car bombings in Beirut and Tripoli in recent months. |
| Both Sunni and Shia militants have been blamed for recent attacks. | Both Sunni and Shia militants have been blamed for recent attacks. |
| Lebanon has also been politically deadlocked since last March with an alliance led by Sunni former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hezbollah unable to agree on a coalition government. |