Syria’s Nusra Front Claims Credit for Lebanon Bombing

Says Attack Was Revenge Against Hezbollah

A suicide bomb blast tore through the area near a government building in the north Lebanese town of Hermel today, killing four people and wounding 43 during morning rush hour.

Unlike other suicide attacks, Syria’s al-Qaeda-run faction Jabhat al-Nusra wasted no time in claiming the credit for the strike, saying the attack was revenge against Hezbollah for its involvement in the Syrian civil war.

Despite being “against Hezbollah,” the four dead were all civilians with no apparent connection to the group, and there is no indication that the decision to hit the site in Hermel went beyond the town’s significant Shi’ite population.

The bomb was packed inside a stolen car, and was detonated by the driver. A second man was seen talking to him before the blast and is being sought by Lebanese security forces.

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.