At least 4 killed, dozens injured in Beirut blast

Photo courtesy Reuters
Photo courtesy Reuters

A BLAST has occurred near in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. The explosion is the latest to hit a predominantly Shiite area.

The explosion, which killed at least four people and wounded dozens, appeared to have been carried out by a pair of suicide bombers making use of a motorbike. The blast happened in the suburb of Beir Hassan, a stronghold of support for the Shiite Muslim political movement Hezbollah.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a group linked to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter.

The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV reported that the explosion had occurred near the Iranian cultural center and the Kuwaiti Embassy. In November, suicide bombers targeted Iran’s embassy in the same area.

A wave of bombings linked to the war in neighboring Syria has struck Lebanon over the past few months, killing and wounding scores of people.

(Reuters, dpa, AP)