[PHOTOS] Liwaa Ahrar al Sunna Brigade claims responsibility for the...

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A Saudi suicide bomber, identified as Abdel Rahman Houmayki, blew himself up at the Duroy Hotel in Beirut's Raouche region as General Security forces were raiding the said hotel, wounding several people, including members from the General Security.

The Liwaa Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek militants claimed via their twitter account responsibility for the attack, stating that they will neither have mercy on Hezbollah nor on the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, security forces cordoned off the area, urging civilians to evacuate the hotel and to stay away from the explosion site in order to facilitate the work of rescue teams.

According to the state-run National News Agency, two suicide bombers were at the Duroy Hotel in Beirut's Raouche, pointing out that the first blew himself up inside the hotel while security forces were able to arrest the other.

Sources revealed to LBCI that a suitcase loaded with approximately 7 KG of explosive materials was found at the hotel, stating that it was in the possession of one of the suicide bombers.

Following the explosion, State Commissioner to the Military court Judge Saqr Saqr inspected the site of the attack, and tasked the military police and Lebanese Armed Forces Intelligence with examining the crime scene and launching an investigation into the attack.

Judge Saqr mentioned that 3 members from the General Security were injured in the blast.

In turn, Lebanese Red Cross Operations Director George Kettaneh told LBCI that 11 civilians were transported to the American University of Beirut Medical Center.

In this regard, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour called on all hospitals in the region to receive and treat the wounded on the expense of the ministry.

Positions

Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq, who headed to the site of the explosion, stated that the attack targets Lebanon’s security, pointing out that the suicide bomber wanted to blow up himself at another location.

For his part, General Security Chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim said that not only the General Security is being targeted, but also the entire Lebanese nation.

In turn, Future bloc MP Ammmar Houri stated that cooperation is obvious between security apparatuses, expressing his hope that stability will prevail over the entire country.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Beirut condemned via twitter the terrorist attack that targeted the region of Raouche, stating that a third bombing in 6 days shows that "a stable Lebanon" is now more important than ever.

Latest attacks

A suicide bomber blew up his car on Monday night (June 23) near an army checkpoint in South Beirut's Tayouneh region, killing a security officer, identified as Abdul Karim Hodroj and wounding several people watching the FIFA World Cup game in a nearby cafe.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a Lebanon-based al Qaeda affiliate, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bombing came just three days after a failed attempt to kill one of the top security officials in Lebanon, which has suffered a wave of sectarian violence linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria.

On Friday, June 20, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint in Lebanon's Daher al-Baydar in the Eastern Bekaa Valley leaving at least 1 person killed, an ISF member, and up to 32 wounded, the health ministry said.

The said explosion came after the Internal Security Forces had received information on the presence of terrorist networks infiltrating the country namely for the possible assassination of Lebanon's Director General of General Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim who narrowly escaped the attack.

The last explosion that hit Lebanon before Friday's occurred on March 29, when a suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle targeted a Lebanese army checkpoint near the Syrian border, killing three people.

Hard-line Sunni groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks against Shiite areas, saying they are meant to punish the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement for fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops in Syria.

Spillover from Syria war

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces against the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels, who have also been supported by Lebanese Sunnis.

The conflict has spilled over into sectarian violence in Lebanon, with rocket attacks on Shiite towns in the Bekaa Valley, close to the border with Syria, and bombings of Shiite and Sunni targets in Lebanon's main coastal cities.

Syria's conflict has re-aggravated sectarian strife in Lebanon where gunbattles, car bombs and rocket attacks linked to Syria have killed scores of Lebanese and revived memories of the country's own 15-year civil war that formally ended in 1990.