A bomb-filled SUV parked in a commercial district in southern Beirut detonated today, badly damaging the restaurant it was parked in front of and killing at least six people, leaving more than 50 wounded.
The blast was in a Shi’ite dominated neighborhood, and just down the street from Hezbollah’s politburo, though Hezbollah officials said they don’t believe they were the direct target of the attack.
Such bombings have become increasingly common in Lebanon in recent months, with spillover violence from Syria regularly focusing on Shi’ite neighborhoods with a major Hezbollah presence.
According to security forces, the detonation of the blast today was timed for rush hour to cause maximum casualties. So far no group has claimed credit for the attack.