Blast Hits Bourj al-Barajneh Apartment, Conflicting Reports on Cause

An explosion rocked an apartment in the southern Beirut suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh on Wednesday evening.

Conflicting reports have emerged on the cause of the blast, which according to al-Manar television resulted in the wounding of two Syrians.

Citing “preliminary” reports, state-run National News Agency said “a bomb detonator exploded inside an apartment rented by a Palestinian man on Baajour Street in Bourj al-Barajneh.”

“A security cordon was imposed in the area and investigations got underway to unveil the circumstances,” NNA added.

Meanwhile, al-Manar TV and Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said the explosion was caused by a “gas cylinder,” noting that “reports of a terrorist act or preparations for such an act are baseless.”

MTV meanwhile said Hizbullah “arrested members of the family that resides in a building adjacent to the al-Khalil Restaurant in order to probe the Bourj al-Barajneh incident.”

A twin suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 44 people and wounded around 240 others in Bourj al-Barajneh in November. All the members of the network that plotted the attack were arrested in the wake of the bombing, according to the interior minister.

Y.R.