U.N. 'Outraged' by Haret Hreik Blast, Calls for Restraint

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly “strongly” deplored on Thursday the car bombing in the Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik, expressing his anger over the recurrent explosions in Lebanon.

"I express my outrage that this is the fourth bomb to have exploded in Beirut’s southern suburbs since July,” Plumbly said in a released statement, noting the “indiscriminate nature of these and other attacks in Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli.”

He continued: “It is deeply distressing to have to condemn yet another appalling act of terrorism, the latest in the number which have killed and injured so many innocent people in this country.”

Plumbly stressed "the importance of those responsible for this and all other such acts of terrorism to be brought to justice, the need for restraint and for all Lebanese to come together in support of institutions of the state and the security forces as they seek to safeguard the country."

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon also condemned on Thursday evening the bombing in Haret Hreik.

The explosion killed at least 4 people, and wounded more than 70 others.

It took place near al-Manar television's old building on al-Arid Street in Haret Hreik, hundreds of meters away from the headquarters of Hizbullah's political bureau.

The blast came less than a week after a car bombing targeted Beirut's central district on Friday, killing former Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah and seven others.

A twin suicide bombing hit the Iranian embassy in south Beirut on November 19, killing 25 people.

In the summer, the southern suburbs suffered two bomb attacks. One, on August 15, killed 27 people. A blast earlier in August had caused no fatalities but wounded some 50 people.