TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AFP)
At least one person was killed and six injured on Saturday in a powerful blast that shook a six-storey residential building in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, a security official told AFP.
"One man died in the blast and six were wounded, most of them women and children," the official said as rescuers evacuated victims from the site of the explosion that took place at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) in the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tebbaneh.
Panicked residents, some of them still in their pyjamas, could be seen fleeing the area that has been the scene of fierce sectarian clashes.
One woman wept as she searched for her daughter. The first floor with four apartments was destroyed by the blast along with several stores located on the ground floor. Cars parked nearby were also damaged.
Army troops and police reinforcements could be seen deploying in the area. Armed militants were also on the streets.
Residents of Bab al-Tebbaneh who support the Western-backed majority in parliament have clashed repeatedly with Alawites in the nearby Jabal Mohsen neighborhood who are loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran.
Alawites are a secretive offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
Nine people were killed and some 45 injured in clashes between the two sides last Sunday and Monday.
Two men were also wounded, one of them critically, in a grenade blast on Friday.
An army spokesman said one of the men had his leg torn off by the blast, which may have been accidental.
"Based on our initial investigation, the man who lost his leg was probably holding the grenade when it fell and exploded," the spokesman told AFP.
The clashes in Tripoli have raised fears of a nationwide security breakdown amid stalled efforts by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to form a national unity government following a Qatari-brokered deal in May to end an 18-month political crisis. |
