Hand Grenade Explodes in Tripoli, Sniper Fire Resumes

A 200 g hand grenade exploded in al-Mina roundabout in Tripoli on Thursday, but no casualties were reported, media reports said.

“At exactly 9:00 p.m., an explosion was heard in the el-Mina roundabout in Tripoli. An army patrol rushed to the area with a military expert who said that the bomb was handmade and weighs 200g,” the army command said in a statement on Friday reporting no injuries.

“The military police took over the investigation into the incident under the supervision of the concerned judiciary,” the statement added.

Moreover, and according to Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) it said “a passing car threw the bomb and the army cordoned off the area.”

“Intermittent sniper fire left one person dead and wounded another,” the station added.

Tripoli witnesses recurrent clashes that often erupt between the Sunni-majority neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.

The clashes have become more frequent and deadly since the beginning of the Syrian uprising, which pits the Sunni-led opposition against the regime of President Bashar Assad, who is Alawite.

Tripoli police chief Brig. Gen. Bassam al-Ayyoubi announced early August the launching of a crackdown on gunmen in the northern city.