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Jun 7, 2007 3:01 pm US/Eastern
Bomb Explosion Rocks Beirut
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) ―
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The Lebanese Army continued to shell the refugee camp in Tripoli on June 6, 2007. (File)
AP
A bomb went off Thursday night near a Christian town north of Beirut, the latest in a string of explosions that have shaken Lebanon since fighting began between army troops and Islamic militants in a northern refugee camp three weeks ago.
There were no injuries, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. quoted Red Cross officials as saying.
Security officials said the blast occurred in an industrial area in Zouk Mousbeh, about 12 miles from Beirut and near the Christian town of Jounieh. There was no immediate word on casualties. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The explosion set off large fires in several buildings, and black smoke billowed from the area.
Ambulances and fire engines raced to the scene, where mangled remains of cars destroyed in the blast lay overturned on the street.
Four explosions in Beirut and nearby areas have killed one person and wounded 40 others since the clashes between Fatah Islam militants and Lebanese army troops started May 20 in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp near the northern port of Tripoli.
Lebanon has also been hit by a series of explosions in the last two years, targeting mainly Christian areas and anti-Syrian politicians.
Explosions on May 21 and 22 killed a woman and injured a dozen people in two Beirut neighborhoods. On May 23, a bomb exploded in the Druse town of Aley in Beirut's central mountains, wounding at least five people.
Lebanon's U.S.-backed government blames neighboring Syria for the explosions, a charge Syria denies.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
