E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSGRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing.
Hussein Malla / AP
A Lebanese rescue man, carries an injured boy at the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 19.
Stringer / Reuters
A man reacts near a burning car at the site of an explosion in Ashafriyeh, central Beirut, on Oct. 19. At least eight people were killed and 78 wounded by a bomb that exploded in central Beirut on Friday, the state news agency said.
Hussein Malla / AP
Lebanese rescue workers and civilians carry an injured girl from the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 19.
Hussein Malla / AP
A Lebanese civilian carries an injured woman at the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 19.
NBC News staff and wire reports -- At least eight people were killed and 78 wounded by a huge blast that exploded in a street in central Beirut on Friday, a security official told NBC News, raising fears that sectarian violence raging in neighboring Syria had spread to the Lebanese capital.
It was not immediately clear whether the blast had been caused by a car bomb, although all evidence pointed to that, the country's top military judge Hatem Madi told NBC News in Beirut. It was also not clear if the explosion targeted any political figure in Lebanon's divided community but it occurred at a time of heightened tension between Lebanese factions on opposite sides of the Syria conflict.
Ambulances rushed to the scene in the Ashafriyeh district, a mostly Christian area, as smoke rose from the area. Several cars were set on fire by the explosion and the front of a multi-story building was badly damaged.
Reuters
Huge blast explodes in a central Beirut street injures dozens, kills at least eight.
Witness Danny Rizkallah told NBC News the blast took place close to the headquarters of a Lebanese opposition political party with links to Syria rebels and close to the scene of the 1982 assassination of then president-elect Bachir Gemayel. The affluent, largely Christian, district is also home to the American University of Science and Technology (AUST).
He said he was having lunch nearby when the blast lifted him from his chair. “It was an incredibly powerful explosion,” he said. “I knew immediately it was a bomb because it has such a different sound to shelling. For this to happen is shocking because we really thought this sort of thing had stopped in Beirut, and for it to happen in the Christian district is also very unusual. I really don’t know who is behind this, or why. Our politics is very messed up.”
Hasan Shaaban / Reuters
Firefighters extinguish fire at the scene of an explosion in Ashrafieh, central Beirut on Oct. 19.
Stringer / Reuters
Relatives comfort a wounded woman at the site of an explosion in Ashafriyeh, central Beirut, on Oct. 19.
Bilal Hussein / AP
Lebanese soldiers inspect damaged buildings at the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 19.
A car bomb blast in Beirut, Lebanon, kills at least two and injures another 15 people. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Leave a Comment:
Negative power .
When will all this senseless killing end...
When the world agrees on one religion--or none at all.
This was an extremely powerful explosion and planned to do as much damage as possible........More innocents lives wasted......And for what? Selfish beliefs? This is total madness !! I am beginning to hate the world we live in ....Sadly it is the only one we have....
This is total madness. A total disrespect for human life.
So so sad. No respector for life. What has happen to love your neighbor.
Oh for God's sake, it was Muslims. Who the hell else slaughters little children with bombs?
Muslims enjoy killing people, especially children. That's why in Syria they sit on rooftops with sniper rifles and slaughter every child they can line up in their sights.
That's why Islam is so popular. There are many violent people in the world who would like nothing better than to kill innocent people, and here's a religion that actually condones it. They couldn't ask for anything more.
And before I hear anything from anyone about "good" Muslims, stuff it. I'll bet you anything that if you know any Muslims you haven't heard a word of criticism about all the slaughter their religion has been causing recently.
After viewing the photos of the carnage I am overcome with a sadness to know that we as human beings are capable of doing this to each other. To see the young girl with what appeared to be a serious head injury and all the lacerations to her body was enough to make me want to cry. How could anyone set off a bomb that could yield these kinds of results? How does it feel to know that what you have done hurts the innocent was well and the guilty. How do you rationalize this end result in your mind? To take that battle to your foe and meet him on the field of battle is one thing but to turn your fight into one of indiscriminate killing is quite another. I pray that this young lady along with all the others that were injured are able to recover quickly from their wounds and get on with their respective lives. I can only hope that the individuals responsible for this mess are brought to justice and that this does not happen again in this community. I send my prayers out to all the families touched by this evil act.