ISIS Claims Beirut Bombing; 43 Killed Over 200 Wounded

Suicide Bombers Detonated in Palestinian Refugee Camp

A pair of suicide bombers tore through the Palestinian refugee camp of Bourj al-Barajneh, in the southern part of the Lebanese capital city of Beirut, killing at least 43 people and wounding over 200 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

ISIS issued a statement almost immediately thereafter, claiming credit for the bombing and saying it targeted Hezbollah, which uses the target neighborhood as a “stronghold.” Several Syrian Islamist factions have targeted Hezbollah in recent years, because of Hezbollah’s support for the Syrian government. Hezbollah insists such attacks won’t change their policy.

The Interior Ministry reported that there was a third would-be suicide bomber in the group, but that he was positioned too close to one of the others, and killed before he could detonate his own bomb. His body was found with a suicide vest still on him.

Lebanon’s local al-Qaeda faction, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, also claimed credit for the bombing, threatening more unless Hezbollah withdraws all support for the Assad government in Syria, though most officials seem to believe it was ISIS, and not them, who actually launched the strike.

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.