24 Killed, Hundreds Wounded in Beirut Car Bomb Attack

Attack Targets Shi'ite Neighborhood in Apparent Syrian Spillover

By far the single biggest spillover incident inside Lebanon took place today in a Shi’ite suburb of the capital city of Beirut, when a massive car bombing tore through the civilian neighborhood, killing at least 24 and wounding over 200 others.

A group calling itself the Brigades of Aisha claimed credit for the attack, which hit near multiple apartment complexes in a Hezbollah-dominated area. The group condemned Hezbollah as “agents of Iran and Israel” in their statement.

The group is heretofore unheard of, and most are assuming the attack was carried out by one of the many Syrian rebel factions, which have repeatedly targeted the neighborhood, nominally in “retaliation” for Hezbollah’s support for the Syrian government, though Hezbollah fighters are rarely targeted.

Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack but urged restraint among the group’s supporters. He did however admonish political rivals to tone down their rhetoric, saying they had created an atmosphere that encourages such bombings.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.