WORLD : 2 Killed in Beirut Car Bomb Blast
BEIRUT — A car bomb exploded during the rush hour today in a crowded Christian neighborhood of Beirut, killing two people, wounding seven and setting seven vehicles afire.
Police said the Mercedes-Benz rigged with about 88 pounds of TNT went off at 9:20 a.m. in the Mokalles district at Beirut’s southeastern edge. A pedestrian and the driver of a car parked near the Mercedes were killed.
A police spokesman said the detonation fuse was found unexploded in the car’s trunk, along with two mines.
“We tend to believe the vehicle exploded by mistake, maybe due to an electrical short circuit,†said a police spokesman. “Had the mines exploded they would have shattered the whole district.â€
The blast set seven vehicles ablaze, including an army jeep, uprooted power poles and smashed glass in a 500-yard radius.
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