Bomb Explodes outside BLOM Bank in West Beirut

Local Editor

A bomb went off Sunday evening outside a branch of the BLOM Bank in Beirut's Verdun area, injuring two people.

The powerful explosion was heard across the western part of the capital.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced shortly after the blast that the explosion caused no casualties. But the Lebanese Red Cross said later that two people were injured, one of them lightly.

Mashnouq said the bomb was inside a suitcase that was placed outside the bank, noting that the blast did not seem to be related to the previous wave of bomb attacks in the country or to any recent intel that security agencies have received about possible terrorist attacks.

He later announced that the BLOM Bank branch was "clearly the target" of the bombing.

And Mashnouq further added that a bomb containing about 3-4 kilos of explosives had been "placed behind the back wall of BLOM Bank.

State-run National News Agency said the explosive device was placed under a car.

"The explosive device was placed in a flower container outside the BLOM Bank and it is estimated to weigh around 15 kilograms," Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous said after inspecting the scene.

He also reassured that the army and security forces are "taking strict security measures to protect all touristic and economic sites across Lebanon."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team