Huge blast rocks Lebanese capital

PressTvSeveral people have reportedly been killed and many others injured after a huge bomb explosion rocked the central part of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

According to Lebanese media reports, a car bomb went off near the headquarters of Lebanon’s March 14 Alliance and the parliament in central Beirut on Friday, killing at least five people and wounding over 70 others.

Media reports indicated that Lebanon’s former finance minister, Mohammad Shatah, and a companion of his were among those killed in the blast. Shatah also served as an adviser to the country’s former prime minister, Saad al-Hariri.

The Lebanese security forces arrived at the incident scene shortly afterwards.

Footage from the aftermath of the blast showed several cars and buildings ablaze while ambulances rushed to the packed business district. The bodies of those killed and injured were also scattered in the area.

The Lebanese capital has been hit by several deadly bomb attacks over the past few months.

In November, at least 23 people, including Iran’s cultural attaché to Beirut Hojjatoleslam Ebrahim Ansari, were killed and more than 140 injured in two explosions that struck near the Iranian Embassy in the southern neighborhood of Janah in the Lebanese capital.