Car Bomb Shakes Christian Neighborhood in Beirut
A car bomb shook a largely Christian neighborhood in Lebanon’s capital city Beirut early Saturday, injuring seven people and causing extensive damage.
A car bomb shook a largely Christian neighborhood in Lebanon’s capital city Beirut early Saturday, injuring seven people and causing extensive damage.
Witnesses told the Associated Press that the car attempted to stop in front of a bingo hall, but security guards asked its driver to move along. The driver then parked the car a short way down the road, minutes before it exploded.
According to the AP, the explosive injured at least seven people, blew off the fronts of some structures, left a seven-foot-deep crater, damaged parked cars and shops and shattered windows for several blocks in the New Jdeideh neighborhood.
The target of the attack wasn't immediately clear, reports say, but it added to the political turmoil after the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian troops to east Lebanon and Syria.
Since Hariri was killed in a massive explosion that ripped through his motorcade in downtown Beirut, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have been participating in demonstrations for and against Syria. AP reports that anti-Syrian opposition demonstrations have included large numbers of Maronite Christians—members of one of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic church.
