A car bomb exploded on Sunday night in the Bekaa town of al-Nabi Osman, killing 2 persons and wounding 14 others. The martyrs were identified as Abdul Rahman al-Kadi and Khalil al-Khalil. Reports said that Abdul Rahman al-Kadi, who hails from the town of al-Ain, is a Hezbollah official whereas MP Ali al-Mokdad told LBCI that al-Kadi is affiliated with the group but is not currently a Hezbollah official. The state-run National News Agency also reported that the suicide bomber was driving so fast on the road linking al-Nabi Osman to al-Ain, noting that when a number of young men chased him and asked him to stop, he blew himself up.
Sources told LBCI that the car bomb is believed to be a Grand Cherokee coming from Wadi Rafek near Arsal, adding that the suicide bomber blew himself up while he was chased by two persons from the town of al-Ain. Meanwhile, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour ordered all hospitals to receive the persons who were injured in al-Nabi Osman explosion and to provide them with the needed treatment at the expense of the Health Ministry. The Ahrar al Sunna brigade claimed on its Twitter account responsibility for the suicide bombing that rocked the Baalbek town of al-Nabi Osman on Sunday night.
“Be prepared for the Yabroud battle inside the Lebanese territories,” the Ahrar al Sunna brigade in Baalbek warned the Lebanese army and Hezbollah. The blast occurred in the small town of al-Nabi Osman, a stronghold of the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, which has been targeted by similar attacks in the past year. Hezbollah-operated Al Manar television broadcast images from the site of the blast showing the twisted metal of a burnt-out car. What appeared to be the structure of the petrol station and an adjacent building were heavily damaged. Civilians, soldiers and emergency response workers were on the scene. Hezbollah is fighting alongside Syrian government forces against a Sunni Muslim-led insurgency seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. Hezbollah has been subjected to car bombings and rocket fire over the past year in the Bekaa Valley and in the heavily residential areas of south Beirut where it maintains a strong presence and support base. LBCI/REUTERS