18 Reported Injured in Beirut Explosion
A bomb exploded in a parking lot in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday morning, injuring at 18 people, according to Lebanon’s National News agency, and raising fears of increasing spillover from the war in neighboring Syria.
The explosion struck the district of Bir al-Abed, and was believed to be a car bomb, Lebanese media reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.The bombing came amid longstanding fears here that Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite Muslim militant group and political party, would face attacks in response to its increased military intervention in support of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, against the two-year uprising challenging his rule.