VIDEO, PHOTOS: Al Nusra claims responsibility for deadly blast in...

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Jabhat al Nusra's Lebanon branch claimed responsibility for an explosion that rocked on Tuesday Beirut's southern suburbs region of Haret Hreik, a stronghold of the Shi'ite movement Hezbollah, killing 4 persons and wounding more than 40, official sources said. A statement released via twitter said the attack comes in retaliation of the Arsal incident in which 9 civilians were killed when a rocket fell into the northeastern Lebanese border town Friday.

Hezbollah's Al Manar channel said the blast occurred in the Haret Hreik area, near al-Jawad restaurant -the site of the January 2nd explosion.

Meanwhile, military justice units launched an investigation into the incident while the State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr tasked the military police with heading to the scene of explosion.

A silver Kia is believed to be the booby-trapped car as parts were seen strewn at the scene of explosion, the state-run National News Agency reported. The agency also added that only a part of the explosive device had detonated, adding that other weapons including 120mm mortar rounds attached to an explosive device were found inside the vehicle.

A suicide bomber is likely behind the Haret Hreik blast, the agency said, adding that his remains were found on site.

The agency also said the explosion killed 4 persons including 2 women, noting that 27 injured were taken to Bahman hospital, some of whom were slightly wounded and who left the hospital, while others were taken to the intensive care unit.

Lebanese Red Cross Operations Director George Kettaneh confirmed to LBCI that at least four were killed in the blast. Ambulances are currently rushing to the scene in a bid to transport all the wounded to nearby hospitals.

The vehicle allegedly used by the suicide bomber is said to hold the registration plate number G347527.

"If the vehicle's registration plate found at the scene of the explosion turns out to be authentic, the car would be determined as a Silver Honda stolen from Jounieh," a security source told LBCI.

This as, an-Nahar newspaper said the car bomb holds the registration plate number G429514, noting that it was stolen in the region of Kfarhabab in October.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel revealed that the explosive-laden vehicle used in the Haret Hreik attack detonated while the explosive belt worn by the suicide bomber did not blow up.

LAF statement

The Lebanese Armed Forces Command issued a statement whereby it said the explosion in Beirut’s southern suburbs region of Haret Hreik resulted from three 120-130mm mortar rounds, and 15 KG of TNT.

In statements issued earlier, the Army Command said that a booby-trapped Kia SUV, with a registration plate number G429514 exploded in the region of Haret Hreik, al-Arid Street, noting that the vehicle belongs to M. Kallas Youssef al-Kallas and was previously reported as stolen.

The statement added that the explosion killed a number of citizens and injured several others, leaving severe material damages.

Accordingly, LAF units deployed and cordoned off the area, while a unit from the military police and number of experts rushed to the scene to examine the remains found at the crime scene, launching an investigation into the incident.

Reactions:

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority to hold an urgent meeting at the Grand Serail.

In turn, Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad said takfiri groups behind the explosions will not change Hezbollah's political course, stressing that a new government should be formed and all parties must assume their responsibilities in addressing those attacks.

MP Walid Jumblatt said that Lebanon has entered a stage of madness, expecting that the country will witness further attacks.

In turn, the Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam condemned the Haret Hreik explosion adding that the only way to respond to such an attack is by strengthening political and security consensus in the country.

Attacks on South Beirut:

Lebanon has been witnessing a wave of terrorist attacks against Hezbollah strongholds, resulting in casualties and heavy material losses.

The latest attack took place when a car bomb exploded near a local government building in the Lebanese town of Hermel on Thursday (16 January) morning, killing at least one and wounding 40 others.

Security sources told LBCI that a suicide bomber had detonated the explosive laden vehicle, a black Kia SUV parked on the side of the road near a bank. Jabhat al-Nusra in Lebanon had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Early January, a powerful explosion shook southern Beirut, killing at least 4 people and injuring over 77 others. The explosion took place in al-Arid Street in Haret Hreik near Jawad restaurant only meters away from Hezbollah's political council, sources said.

Similarly, a double suicide attack targeted on Tuesday, November 19 the Iranian embassy in south Beirut’s Bir Hassan region, killing at least 23 people, wounding 146 and damaging buildings in the embassy compound.

The Abdullah Azzam brigades, a Lebanon-based al-Qaeda affiliate, said it was behind a double suicide attack on the Iranian embassy.

A powerful car bomb tore through the Beirut Southern Suburbs' region of Roueis, a stronghold of Hezbollah on Thursday the 15th of August, claiming the lives of 27 civilians and leaving more than 289 wounded, some of whom are still receiving treatment.

In July, a similar attack also took place, setting several cars on fire and causing an estimated 53 injuries, security officials said.

The powerful blast came as many among Lebanon's Shiites began observing the holy month of Ramadan, and is the worst explosion to hit the area in years as a direct fallout of the civil war raging in neighboring Syria.

The blast was caused by a car bomb in a parking lot nearby the Al-Hussein Bin Ali technical school. Sources then told LBCI the vehicle carrying the explosives, which weight 35 kilograms, was identified as a Nissan SUV.

LBCI/REUTERS

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For a video of the aftermath of the explosion click here.