Two Suicide Bombers Hit Lebanese Capital, 43 Killed
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 43 people were killed and more than 240 wounded on Thursday in two suicide bomb blasts claimed by ISIL terrorist group in a crowded residential district in Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.
The explosions were the first attacks in more than a year to target a Hezbollah stronghold inside Lebanon, and came at time when the group is stepping up its involvement in a war in Syria against terrorist groups, including ISIL (also known as Daesh).
Hezbollah has sent hundreds of fighters to support Syrian forces in the four-year-old conflict over the border.
The blasts occurred almost simultaneously late on Thursday and struck a Shiite community center and a nearby bakery in the commercial and residential area of Borj al-Barajneh, security sources said. A closely guarded Hezbollah-run hospital is also nearby, according to Reuters.
Health Minister Wael Abu Faour said 43 people were killed and 240 people were wounded.
The ISIL said in a statement posted online by its supporters that its members blew up a bike loaded with explosives in Borj al-Barajneh and that when onlookers gathered, a suicide bomber blew himself up among them. The group said the attacks killed 40 people.
Meantime, Hezbollah vowed to continue its fight against "terrorists", warning of a "long war" against its enemies.
Medics rushed to treat the wounded after the explosions, which damaged shop fronts and left the street stained with blood and littered with broken glass.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said a third suicide bomber had been killed by one of the explosions before he could detonated his own bomb. His body was found nearby.
