Two wounded as blast rocks Christian suburb near Beirut
AFP
Date: 08-22-05
BEIRUT (AFP) - Three people were injured in an explosion that rocked a main shopping street in a Christian suburb north of the Lebanese capital, police said.
The explosion, which could be heard for several kilometers (miles), went off at the entrance to the underground parking garage of a shopping center.
The roof of the Moussa shopping center center on Zalka collapsed, and a neighboring hotel and office block housing departments of the National Bank were badly damaged, witnesses said.
An AFP photographer said damage in the area was heavy, with cracks in the walls of the hotel.
Two passers-by and a photographer were injured by flying glass, police said.
Firemen and civil defense agents evacuated guests at the hotel, including tourists from Gulf Arab countries in their pajamas, witnesses said.
Police and an army unit threw a security cordon around the building, preventing the public or press from approaching.
It was the 10th bomb blast in Beirut since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February, which led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon under enormous popular pressure.
The last explosion, on July 22 following a surprise visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, caused 12 injuries in a Christian neighborhood of Beirut.
Source
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