Region | Lebanon
Explosion rocks north Lebanon city of Tripoli
A car bomb exploded on Monday near a military bus carrying troops on their way to work in northern Lebanon, killing at least five people and injuring 25, Lebanese security officials said.
- AP
- Published: 09:14 September 29, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- The bomb was allegedly targeting Lebanese soldiers.
Tripoli, Lebanon: A car bomb exploded on Monday near a military bus carrying troops on their way to work in northern Lebanon, killing at least five people and injuring 25, Lebanese security officials said.
A senior military official said four soldiers were among the dead and the security officials said 22 of the injured in six area hospitals were soldiers.
It was the second deadly attack targeting troops in northern Lebanon in less than two months.
Security officials said the explosives-laden car was parked on the side of the road and was detonated by remote control as the bus drove in the Bahsas neighbourhood on the southern entrance to the northern port city of Tripoli. They said the explosives used were mixed with ball bearings to maximise casualties.
The blast, which tossed the car about a dozen metres, occurred during the morning rush hour, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Hand of treachery
Soldiers sealed off the area and prevented people from approaching the blast scene. The explosion shattered windows of cars parked in the area. Police forensic experts in plainclothes or in white uniforms and with several wearing masks searched for evidence in the bus wreckage.
An officer at the scene said the bus was carrying about 30 soldiers and was headed from the remote region of Akkar, from which many troops hail, through Tripoli and toward Beirut.
The bus, its windows shattered, sat motionless on the street, with its lights still flashing. A badly damaged civilian sports utility vehicle that was behind the bus remained at the scene.
Khodr Kheir Al Deen Hamad, 31, was sitting at a nearby petrol station when the car exploded. He quickly ran for cover as the glass and other debris came falling down.
"The explosion was so big, it was deafening. Till now I can't hear properly." Television footage showed pieces of flesh strewn on the road. The owner of the car later showed up at the site, according to several television stations, and was picked up by intelligence agents for questioning about the circumstances surrounding the explosion. That suggested that the owner may have been unaware that his car was rigged.
The military reported the attack in a statement saying "once again the hand of treachery targets the military...in a terrorist attack."
Tripoli has been rocked by sectarian fighting between pro-government fighters and pro-Syrian gunmen of the Al Awite sect, a Shiite group, that killed or wounded dozens in the summer before a truce was reached.
On August 13, 18 soldiers and civilians were killed by a roadside bomb packed with nuts and bolts near a bus carrying troops on a busy Tripoli street.
Timeline: Previous attacks
May 20, 2007: Sunni militants of Fatah Al Islam group, based in Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr Al Bared near Tripoli, attack army posts and vehicles, killing more than 20 soldiers.
September 2, 2007: Lebanese troops take control of Nahr Al Bared after 15 weeks of fighting in which at least 430 people were killed, including 170 soldiers overall.
December 12, 2007: Car bomb kills Brigadier General Francois AlHajj, the army's head of operations, and a bodyguard in Christian town east of Beirut.
January 25, 2008: Bomb kills Wisam Eid, a captain in a police intelligence unit, and five other people in mainly Christian east Beirut.
August 13, 2008: Bomb kills 15 people, including 10 soldiers, at bus stop in Tripoli. No group claims responsibility.
September 29, 2008: Car bomb blast hits bus in Tripoli, killing five people, four of them soldiers.
- Reuters
News Editor's choice
-
6,000 cups and counting: Addicted to that tea
This cafeteria in Al Mamzar attracts thousands of customers daily, including the rich and not so rich
-
Swimming pool horror: Twins hospitalised
Twins rushed to hospital after collapsing from chlorine inhalation at swimming pool in their villa
-
Play your cards right with credit card interest
UAE Central Bank plans to cap interest rates, but are you paying thirty-five per cent now?
