Conflicting reports emerged concerning the explosion that went off Tuesday dawn near a Hezbollah base between the Bekaa towns of Sbouba and Wadi Abou Moussa.
In this context, sources told LBCI that reports of a suicide bomber driving the BMW booby-trapped car were false, noting that the vehicle was parked near a Hezbollah base where it blew up, leaving several injured. The sources added that the car bomb was not spotted prior to its arrival to the target, stressing that it was not accompanied by another vehicles.
This as conflicted information indicated that a Cherokee vehicle contained the bomb that exploded and targeted the Hezbollah base, noting that the BMW vehicle at the explosion scene may belong to Hezbollah.
However, security sources reported that Hezbollah was chasing two vehicles, one BMW and another Cherokee, pointing out that Sbouba explosion targeted a Hezbollah base located at 500 meters away from the blast’s scene.
The sources added that a van that belongs to the Shiite party intercepted the BMW and blocked its way opening fire at it, leading the BMW’s driver to blow himself up. According to preliminary information, the Cherokee’s driver who was accompanying the BMW also blew himself.
In turn, the state-run National News Agency reported another version of the incident, saying that the car bomb was "intercepted" at a Hezbollah checkpoint and exploded after members of the checkpoint fired at it. It was unclear whether the car detonated due to the gunshots or after the driver set off the explosion.
The NNA said there were multiple casualties and that ambulances were rushing to the area, which was sealed off by the Shiite party.
For its part, Agence France Presse said in its report that a car bomb explosion targeted a Hezbollah base in the town of Sbouba, northern Baalbek in East Lebanon, noting that the blast left several killed and injured, without specifying how the explosion went off.
AFP cited citizens from the town as saying that they heard ambulances rushing to the explosion scene, adding that Hezbollah members and security forces cordoned off the area.
Another report issued by Reuters news agency said that an explosives-laden car blew up on Tuesday in a remote region of the Bekaa Valley controlled by Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah movement, killing the driver and wounding at least two people who were pursuing the vehicle, security sources said.
The incident occurred about 20 km (13 miles) from the border with Syria.
The sources said Hezbollah officials, alerted to a suspicious car soon after 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), began to follow it in two vehicles. The car then exploded.
For its part, the Lebanese Armed Forces command declared that an explosion took place on the Sbouba road in Baalbek, adding that LAF units rushed to the scene where it turned out that the explosion resulted from a booby-trapped Grand Cherokee.
The statement added that the explosion damaged several vehicles in the area, noting that the military expert examined the scene while the military police launched an investigation in the incident under the supervision of the concerned authority.
The military expert estimated the weight of the bomb to be 50 kilograms of explosives planted in a Grand Cherokee vehicle.
Accordingly, the State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr tasked the military police, the LAF Intelligence Directorate and the Criminal Evidence teams with conducting preliminary investigations under his supervision in the case of the Bekaa car bomb.
Meanwhile, four vehicles were found at the explosion scene, two that are completely damaged, while investigations are ongoing to reveal the type of the booby-trapped car.
To watch Edmond Sassine's report, please click on the video above