Hizbullah Says Dahieh Explosion Caused by Gas Canister as Reports Question its Nature
Hizbullah denied on Saturday reports about casualties taking place in a gas canister explosion in the Rouwais neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs a day earlier.
“No one was injured in the blast, but only material damage was incurred,” Hizbullah’s media relations department said in a statement.
The statement added: “The blast that happened in an apartment in Dahieh’s Rouwais neighborhood was caused by a gas canister.”
An internal security forces source confirmed to MTV Hizbullah’s statement.
Judicial sources told Akhbar al-Yawm News Agency that negotiations between the military court and Hizbullah officials lasted around an hour to allow the military judiciary to carry out the required investigations at the site.
However, MTV reported that two blasts occurred on Friday in Dahieh.
The first blast hit a parked Mercedes car near the building where the explosion occurred, while the second took place at an apartment in the building, where a well-known member of Hizbullah resides.
MTV said that the army was handed the files on the explosion 16 hours after it took place.
An official affiliated to the March 8 forces told the station that Samir al-Qontar, former detainee in Israeli prison, wasn’t targeted by the blast, adding that he is well.
Security information obtained by al-Jadeed television reported that the explosion was caused by a hand grenade that exploded by mistake and left five wounded.
Judicial sources told LBC that Hizbullah’s statement can’t be confirmed nor denied.
“Reports showed that the blast wasn’t caused by a gas canister,” the sources said.
In addition, newspapers raised doubts on the nature of the blast.
An Nahar and al-Liwaa dailies said that a small bomb or a hand grenade could have been the cause of the explosion which triggered a huge fire at the apartment.
They said the Shiite party’s gunmen raced to the scene of the blast which took place at around 11:00 pm on the 10th floor of the building, preventing curious onlookers and reporters from reaching the area.
At one point, the gunmen opened fire in the air to disperse the crowds.
Given the sensitive location of the blast scene, security forces and investigators were also prevented from reaching the area.
The reports said one person was killed in the explosion and that firefighters worked on dousing the fire well after midnight.
Al-Liwaa said that two explosions shook Rouwais and not one.
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