Blast rocks south Lebanon restaurant
In a two kilogram bomb explosion:
Lebanon: An explosion tore through a restaurant in the southern
Lebanese town of Tyre at dawn Wednesday, just a few metres from a hotel
that was bombed last month, a security source told AFP.
The explosion, which happened at around 5:00 am local time (0300
GMT), was caused by a two kilogram (4.4 pound) bomb made of TNT that was
left on the staircase of the seaside Tyros restaurant. There were no
injuries.
The establishment is close to the Queen Elissa Hotel, whose nightclub
was the target of a bombing attack on November 16. There were no victims
in that attack and no one has claimed responsibility.
A nearby liquor store was targeted the same night.
There was speculation the establishments were targeted for selling
alcohol in the majority Shiite Muslim town, after a string of liquor
stores were forced to close in the face of a prohibition campaign in the
country’s south.
The Tyros restaurant also sold alcohol, which is widely available in
Lebanon, considered the most liberal country in the Arab world.
Alcohol is banned, however, in areas under the control of the
militant Shiite group Hezbollah and radical Sunni movements.
Earlier this month, a powerful bomb struck a UN peacekeeping vehicle
in Tyre, wounding five French soldiers and a civilian. AFP
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