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Scores dead in north Lebanon twin blasts
At least 42 killed and 500 wounded after car bombings target two mosques in
Tripoli as worshippers leave prayers.
Last Modified: 23 Aug 2013 16:42
At least 42 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded after twin car
bombs exploded outside mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli,
according to the health ministry.
The blasts went off near mosques in the predominantly Sunni city on Friday,
when mosques were packed with worshippers for the Friday noon prayer.
The first explosion hit the Taqwa mosque and killed at least 14 people there,
according to accounts earlier in the day.
Further deaths were reported from a second blast outside the al-Salam mosque,
which the Interior Ministry said was hit by a car laden with 100 kilogrammes of
explosives.
The imams of the two targeted mosques were reported to be unharmed and moved to
a safe location, according to a local channel. Sheikh Salem al Rafei, a Sunni
cleric and outspoken critic of the regime in neighbouring Syria, was leading
the prayers at al-Taqwa Mosque.
While the Lebanese government's official position on Syria is one of
neutrality, the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has openly declared its support
for Syria's President Bashar al Assad, and a number of Lebanese from the city
of Tripoli have gone to Syria to fight with the armed opposition.
'I saw bodies'
"We were just bowing down to pray for the second time and the bomb went off.
The air cleared, and I looked around me and saw bodies," said Samir Jadool, 39.
Video obtained by local news channel LBC showed the moment of the explosion at
al-Salam mosque. The blast ripped through a wall of the mosque, showering
clouds of dust on people sitting on prayer mats and sending dozens running out
of the building.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Tripoli, said there have been no
claims of responsibility for the attacks.
Residents in the area told her that the bombings, which happened five minutes
apart, were specifically targeting the Sunni community.
The two explosions come a week after a huge explosion rocked the southern
suburbs of Beirut [Reuters]
"It is very tense now in Tripoli. This is a city which is not immune to
violence, as it has witnessed intermittent clashes over the last year or so,
with parties who support and oppose the Syrian government," she said.
"It is a dangerous time for Lebanon, which is not just split on political
lines, but sectarian lines as well. Tensions are high, the country is
polarised, and a number of officials are warning that the country is under
threat."
She went on to say that in the aftermath of the blast, Lebanese officials were
trying to play down the sectarian nature of the attack. "They are saying those
who are responsible for the attacks in Tripoli are the same ones responsible
for the explosion last week in the southern suburbs of Beirut."
Former internal security chief Ashraf Rifi, whose home was damaged by the
second blast, warned that Lebanon was facing a gathering storm of violence.
"We are still in the beginning of the storm and we must remain aware and try to
protect this nation," he said, speaking outside his home. "This storm has
become a huge, grave danger."
Witnesses at the scene of the blasts said anger was rising among locals, who
were shouting out accusations that Assad's government or Hezbollah were behind
the attack.
Hezbollah released a statement condemning the Tripoli blasts and expressing
solidarity with the victims, saying they were targets of efforts to fan more
violence in Lebanon.
"We consider this the completion of an effort to plunge Lebanon into chaos and
destruction," the statement said.
Last week a powerful car bomb explosion ripped through a residential Shia
neighbourhood in Dahiyeh, the southern suburbs of Beirut, which killed 27
people and left over 350 wounded.
"There is a lot of fear," Khodr said. "[Residents of Tripoli] are worried,
there are reports that there are gunshots being heard in the city. So a very
dangerous development at a very volatile time for this country."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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