A car bomb exploded in Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday wounding at least 18 people in a stronghold of the Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting in Syria's civil war.
Tensions in Lebanon have been high following the intervention of Hezbollah in support of President Bashar al-Assad's forces fighting a two-year revolt led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority.
"This is the work of agents trying to create strife in Lebanon," said Hezbollah parliamentary spokesman Ali Meqdad.
A Reuters reporter on the scene saw a large fire raging at the site of the blast, which apparently targeted a shopping mall in the Bir al-Abed area. The area is also home to many Hezbollah political offices.
A pillar of dense black smoke billowed above surrounding high-rise apartment blocks. Ambulances and fire engines sped through the streets to rescue casualties.
Hezbollah gunmen cordoned off the area of the blast, which damaged cars and buildings. Fires were raging from dozens of cars which were set ablaze in the parking lot where the car rigged with explosives was left.
"I haven't heard an explosion like this one since the 1980s (when a car bomb targeted Hezbollah's late spiritual leader Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah)," a woman in southern Beirut said.
Shopping areas would likely have been full on Tuesday, the day before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins.
The attack is the second strike to hit Shi'ite southern Beirut this year. Two rockets hit the area in May and Lebanese security forces have disarmed several rockets near Beirut in recent months as well.
SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
It was unclear who was behind Tuesday's blast or May's attack and if Hezbollah leaders were hurt.
The last car bomb to hit Beirut targeted a senior intelligence official in October. Wissam al-Hassan was part of the country's leading Sunni opposition party, which has supported the uprising in Syria.
Syria's conflagration has polarised Lebanon, a country of 4 mln that is still healing from its own 15-year civil war.
Lebanon's Sunni Muslims mostly support the rebels in Syria, while Shi'ites have largely supported Assad, who is part of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
Sunni Muslim militant groups have threatened to carry out attacks against Hezbollah following its military intervention in Syria.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has promised that his group will continue fighting for Assad after it spearheaded the recapture of the strategic town of Qusair last month.
