At Least Two Troops Killed in Hermel Army Checkpoint Blast, Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon Claims Attack
Two troops were killed on Saturday and several others were wounded in a massive suicide car explosion at an army checkpoint in the Bekaa town of Hermel.
The attack was claimed by Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon.
The suicide car blast ripped through the checkpoint which lies at the entrance of Hermel, and at which cars are routinely stopped and searched by army troops.
“A suicide blast took place near al-Assi bridge area at the entrance of Hermel,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
"The blast killed two troops, among them an army officer, and wounded five others while other 10 civilians were also lightly injured in the bombing.”
“One victim's body and 14 wounded were transferred to three hospitals in the region,” the news agency said.
The NNA identified one injured civilian as Mohammed Dib Ayyoub.
Meanwhile, al-Jadeen television and al-Mayadeen channel both said three people were killed in the bombing.
Military sources told LBCI television that among the wounded were three army recruits and two civilians.
“The wounded recruits are Imad Mahmoud Abou Zeid, Hassan Ali Jaafar and Elie Shhade Rizk while the civilians are Khodr Abu Bakr and his wife Rita.”
Minister of Public Health Wael Abou Faour urged all hospitals in the region to admit those that were wounded in the blast.
The NNA provided details on the moment of the explosion: “When army troops asked the driver to turn the lights on inside the car, he refused to do so and then detonated the vehicle.”
Media reports also said the checkpoint was not the target.
"The attacker was entering Hermel and when army forces at the checkpoint suspected him, he detonated the booby-trapped car,” LBCI said.
LBCI noted that the checkpoint where the car exploded belongs to the border regiment whose mission is deploying troops on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
"Obtained information said two booby-trapped cars were located at the entrance of Hermel, and one of them only exploded at the checkpoint," al-Mayadeen said.
In the evening, the army released a statement detailing on Saturday's developments.
"At 7:00pm a four-wheeled vehicle driven by a suicide bomber detonated at an army checkpoint, killing and wounding several troops and civilians,” the released communique said.
The statement noted that the attacker blew himself inside the car when army forces tried to stop him after finding him suspicious.
It considered that Saturday's operation requires embracing the military institution.
"We will never stop facing anyone trying to harm Lebanon and we'll work to dismantle terrorist networks and prosecute fugitives regardless of the sacrifices to be offered,” the statement stressed.
"Once again, the army is paying in blood the price of fighting terrorism and attempting to safeguard civil peace in the country. The military institution has warned months ago of what is being planned for Lebanon and we have intensified our campaigns to arrest planners and executors of these terrorist acts."
"We have announced our readiness to confront terrorism that aims at creating chaos and inciting sedition in Lebanon.”
Late on Saturday evening, Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon claimed responsibility for the attack.
"In a blessed martyrdom (suicide) operation, the Hermel area was struck on Saturday," the Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon said on Twitter hours after the blast.
It also posted photographs of children with amputated limbs, under the headline: "The crimes of the party of Iran (Hizbullah) in Syria".
Following the blast, the municipality of the Bekaa town urged citizens to stay away from the site of the explosion.
Also, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr tasked police forces with cordoning off the site of the explosion and gather all found information and clues about the car and the bomber, according to the NNA.
“He also tasked forensic doctors with collecting humans remains and carry out the necessary DNA testing,” the NNA added.
Hermel, in the Bekaa Valley where Hizbullah has a strong presence, has seen multiple attacks in recent months related to the war raging in neighboring Syria.
Until Saturday, the attacks had all killed civilians.
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