Car bomb found in Beirut stronghold of Hezbollah had 50 kg. of explosives

Explosive found in the Mamora neighborhood of southern Beirut two months after a car bomb killed 20 people in the area.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON, REUTERS
Hezbollah members rally in Beirut 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
Hezbollah members rally in Beirut 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
The Lebanese army announced on Tuesday that the car bomb defused in Beirut the night before was rigged with 50 kilograms of explosives.
The car was found in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the Shi’ite terrorist group Hezbollah.
The Lebanese Daily Star said that according to the army, the explosives included three mines, six cluster bombs, TNT and aluminum powder as well as a detonation cord. The military said it was continuing to investigate the incident.
The discovery of a bomb came on the first night of Id al-Adha and two months after a car bomb killed 20 people in the area. It looked like the latest sign of growing sectarian tensions in Lebanon exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria.
The bomb was found in a Jeep Cherokee parked in the Mamora area, an army statement said. Specialists were brought in to defuse the bomb and remove the vehicle.
Car bombs are again becoming increasingly common in Lebanon. In September, twin bombs killed 42 people at Sunni mosques in Tripoli in the deadliest attack in the coastal city since the end of Lebanon’s civil war.
Fighters from Hezbollah have joined President Bashar Assad’s forces in his battle to crush a Sunni-armed uprising in Syria, causing resentment among Lebanese Sunnis.