The two people killed in a mysterious late night blast in Beirut's southern suburbs were both Hamas members, a spokesman for the Palestinian Islamist movement told Al-Arabiya television on Sunday.
"The explosion in the southern suburbs resulted in the martyrdom of two members of Hamas and wounded three other people," the spokesman, Ayman Taha, said on the Saudi-owned, Dubai-based station.
He added that "the circumstances of the explosion are unclear and it is too early to name the party" responsible for it.
The explosion in the southern suburbs resulted in the martyrdom of two members of Hamas and wounded three other people
A Lebanese security official had earlier said that at least two people were killed and several wounded in the Saturday night explosion.
"The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined," the official added.
Lebanon's official National News Agency said that the blast was caused by bombs placed under the car of a possible Hamas member, while Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station said it occurred in a Hamas office.
Close allies and arch-foes
The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined
An AFP photographer said the blast occurred in an alley in Harek Hreik, meters (yards) away from a community centre where Hezbollah was organizing a ceremony to commemorate the Shiite rituals of Ashura.
Hezbollah security forces cordoned off the area keeping journalists at bay, the photographer said.
Local television stations also reported that an unspecified number of people were wounded in the blast, which they said targeted a Hamas official who they did not identify.
Hezbollah and Hamas are both close allies and arch-foes of Israel.
In 2006 Israel waged a devastating 34-day war on Hezbollah in Lebanon, which devastated the southern suburbs and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
The blast also came on the eve of the first anniversary of Israel's 22-day offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip during which some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.
Lebanon is home to 12 Palestinian refugee camps that house more than 200,000 registered refugees.
Several Palestinian militants and Hezbollah members have been killed in Lebanon in recent years in attacks their organizations have blamed on Israel
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