The Health Ministry reported on Saturday that the death toll from the twin blasts that rocked
the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli increased to 45, in addition to serious
damages caused to buildings, cars and shops in the city.
This as, cautious
calm prevailed in the city; however, interrupted with the sound of
sporadic gunshots in the region of Bab el-Tabbaneh.
Meanwhile, residents of the city held
funerals for those who were killed in Friday’s blasts at a time when others
proceeded with the search to identify other killed persons.
Out of the 45 killed persons, the
following were identified: Sheikh Tarek Shriki, Haitham Saleh, Nizar Sobha,
Mohammad Syuf, Haitham al-Qorhani, Mohammad Jdida, Sheikh Ayman (the rest of
his identity remains unknown), as well as 3 children from the Al-Habbous. In addition
to this, 3 burned bodies were transported to the Nini Hospital in Tripoli,
while 5 other bodies remain unidentified.
On another note, armed men were
deployed in various regions in Tripoli and erected checkpoints, checking the
identities of passersby.
In turn, Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)
carried out patrols in the northern Lebanese city, amidst calls by residents on
the military institution to put forth more efforts to prevent the recurrence
of such terrorist acts.
It
is worth noting that forensic evidence teams are surveying
the explosion sites to reveal circumstances behind the incident.
In this regard, security apparatuses said the
car that exploded outside the al-Salam Mosque, facing the residence of the
former general director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces Major General
Ashraf Riffi in the Northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, is a 4x4 Ford and
mentioned that the explosive weighs at 175 KG of TNT.
The security
sources added to LBCI that the driver of the car wanted to park it across the
residence of Major General Ashraf Riffi;
however, one of the latter's security official did not allow him.
For this, the driver parked
the car near the al-Salam mosque and detonated it.
Separately, sources confirmed to LBCI that the car that exploded outside the al-Taqwa Mosque
is a 4x4, noting that it may be a BMW X5 or a Mercedes ML.
Security sources also confirmed to LBCI that a second person was
brought from the North for investigations over Tripoli's twin blasts.
On Friday the 23rd of August,
two explosions
rocked the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli near the al-Taqwa and al-Salam
mosques, leaving 45 killed and almost 500 others injured.
Thick black smoke billowed as gunshots were fired into the air. Ambulances
rushed to the scene and security forces cordoned off the area for fears of
further attacks.
In the details, one blast occurred outside the al-Taqwa mosque as Friday
prayers ended.
The
other hit central Tripoli near the al-Salam mosque facing the residence of the
former general director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces Major General
Ashraf Riffi.
The al-Taqwa mosque is where hardline Salafist Sheikh Salem Rafei preaches. He
has been known for his anti-Syrian regime sentiment.
The blasts come amid rising tension in Lebanon resulting from Syria's civil
war, which has sharply polarized the country along sectarian lines and between
supporters and opponents of the regime of President Bashar Assad.
REACTIONS:
The Directorate General of Internal Security Forces called on the media to seek
accuracy in transmitting information, mainly throughout the current
circumstances, in order to avoid sedition among the Lebanese citizens.
This as
caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Tripoli’s incident is a humanitarian
disaster, noting that the explosions caused severe damages to the city and
left several people dead.
He also revealed that tight security measures
will be implemented in Tripoli, adding that the entrances of the city will be
monitored in order to prevent similar incidents from taking place.
In turn, the Association of Muslim Scholars called Saturday on the
Ministry of Defense and the Army Command to carry out their duties related to
maintaining Lebanon's stability, urging Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from
Syria.
The association also called on the Lebanese state and the
judiciary to speed up the trial of former Minister Michel Samaha, and halt
attempts of diluting his file.
For his part, Sheikh Salem Rafei said the "self-security
policy" is neither accepted in Beirut's Southern Suburbs, nor in any other
Lebanese region, adding that Hezbollah arrested a number of citizens from
Tripoli.
As for caretaker Finance Minister Mohamad Safadi, he said that security
forces are exerting their utmost efforts to reveal the circumstances behind the
explosion, adding that the security of the entire Lebanese nation was targeted.
Caretaker Youth
and Sports Minister Faysal Karameh said that "real measures" should
be implemented to maintain the security of the Lebanese nation.
"We
don't want to hear analysis and positions, we want tight measures to protect
the country," Minister Karameh said.
Earlier, Minister Karameh said "what happened in Tripoli is
a massacre that drags Lebanon into strife," adding that security
apparatuses should be given the full authority to protect the Lebanese state.
Karameh told
LBCI during
Nharkom Said that Lebanon is not similar to Iraq, stressing that it
may not be able to handle such security
incidents.
INTERNATIONAL POSITIONS:
Al Qaeda's North African branch
blamed Hezbollah for the twin bombs that hit the northern city of Tripoli on
Friday and threatened retribution, a US-based intelligence monitoring website
reported on Saturday.
AQIM said in tweets it knew
"with certainty" that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah was responsible
for the attack that killed at least 42 persons in Tripoli.
In turn the Syrian opposition accused the Syrian regime of
being behind the attacks that targeted Tripoli on Friday.
The Syrian National Coalition said "Tripoli's explosions
and the other explosion that targeted South Beirut's Roueis region indicate
that the Syrian regime is trying to implement a strife plan to drag the region
into chaos and destruction."
Earlier, the Iranian official news agency
IRNA reported on Saturday that Iranian officials denounced the “terrorist
explosions” that targeted Tripoli on Friday.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi was quoted as
saying that “extremists and irresponsible Takfiri groups are perpetrators of
the Zionists' plots to sow discord among the Lebanese people and to strike a
blow to the national unity.”