Lebanese Pilgrims Return to Beirut after Bus Bombing in Iraq
Around twenty-eight Lebanese pilgrims whose bus was targeted by a bomb blast in Iraq returned to Beirut on Wednesday aboard an Iraqi plane, the National News Agency reported.
NNA said flight number 139 from Najaf landed at Rafik Hariri International Airport at noon carrying 145 passengers on board, including two pilgrims who were injured in Monday's bombing in Samarra, 125 kilometers north of Baghdad.
A Lebanese man, Hussein Nahle, was killed in the bombing. NNA said he was buried in Iraq.
TV footage showed hundreds of family members and friends welcoming the pilgrims at the airport. They began pushing through the crowds when they saw their loved ones, prompting security forces to restore calm and order.
The health minister's adviser, Hassan Jaafar, told LBCI's reporter at the airport that three people were injured in the blast. But only two returned on Wednesday and the third will be flown to Beirut later.
He said the health ministry will cover the expenses of their treatment.
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