Loyalty to the Resistance bloc: Regional intelligence services behind Roueis attack

In a statement issued following its meeting and read by MP Hassan Fadlallah, the bloc noted that there are attempts to impose a provocative fait accompli in the formation of a new cabinet that would aggravate the crisis and increase the level of escalation and tension in the country.

 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.            

This is the second explosion to target the area in the span of less than a couple of months. A large explosion rocked a stronghold of the Hezbollah group south of the Lebanese capital Tuesday July 9th, setting several cars on fire and causing an estimated 53 injuries, security officials said.                 

The violence raises the specter of Lebanon being pulled into the increasingly sectarian civil war raging next door in Syria.                                      

The Syrian conflict, now in its third year, is whipping up sectarian fervor in Lebanon. Sunni-Shiite tensions have risen sharply, particularly since Hezbollah raised its profile by openly fighting alongside President Assad's forces. Lebanese Sunnis support the rebels fighting to topple Assad, a member of a Shiite offshoot sect. 
 
Syria-based rebels and militant Islamist groups have threatened to target Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon in retaliation for its increasingly overt role in Syria. The group's fighters played a key role in a recent regime victory in the town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border, and Syrian activists say they are now aiding a regime offensive in the besieged city of Homs.