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Suicide car bomb rocks Lebanese capital Beirut | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A suicide bomber has detonated a car bomb near a Lebanese army checkpoint in the capital, Beirut, officials say. | |
The blast, which caused a huge fire, occurred in a southern suburb mainly inhabited by Shia Muslims. It is unclear whether anyone else was killed. | |
Lebanon has suffered a rise in sectarian tension linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria. | Lebanon has suffered a rise in sectarian tension linked to the conflict in neighbouring Syria. |
Last week a policeman was killed and 30 people injured when a suicide bomber detonated his car in eastern Lebanon. | Last week a policeman was killed and 30 people injured when a suicide bomber detonated his car in eastern Lebanon. |
The latest explosion occurred just after midnight local time (21:00 GMT) near a checkpoint and a cafe where people had gathered to watch World Cup matches. | The latest explosion occurred just after midnight local time (21:00 GMT) near a checkpoint and a cafe where people had gathered to watch World Cup matches. |
Nearby vehicles were set alight by the blast and witnesses reported seeing several wounded people being taken away in ambulances. | |
Previous attacks on Shia areas in Lebanon have been carried out by Sunni extremists who accuse Shia militant group Hezbollah of fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's troops in Syria. | |
But the incident comes amid mounting regional tensions over events in nearby Iraq, where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) has seized large chunks of territory in the country's north and west. | |
Last week, Lebanese security forces raided a hotel in Beirut and arrested more than a dozen men thought to have been plotting attacks in the country. | Last week, Lebanese security forces raided a hotel in Beirut and arrested more than a dozen men thought to have been plotting attacks in the country. |