Lebanon mourns 43 killed in Beirut double bomb attack

AFP, BEIRUT: Lebanon on Friday mourned 43 people killed in south Beirut in a twin bombing claimed by the Islamic State group, the bloodiest such attack in years.
The Red Cross said at least 239 people were also wounded, several in critical condition, in the blasts that hit a busy shopping street in the Burj al-Barajneh neighbourhood, where the Shiite Hezbollah movement is popular.
The attack harked back to a campaign against the group between 2013 and 2014, ostensibly in revenge for its military support of regime forces in neighbouring Syria’s civil war.
But it was the largest attack ever claimed by IS in Lebanon, and among the deadliest bombings to hit the country since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
On Friday, families prepared to collect the bodies of loved ones from hospitals as the country observed a day of national mourning declared by Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
Schools were closed for the day, and politicians across Lebanon’s fractured political spectrum offered condemnations of the attack.
The blasts ripped through a street market in the poor, mainly Shiite Muslim neighbourhood, staining the ground red with blood and gutting several surrounding shops.

 

Lebanon mourns 43 killed in Beirut double bomb attack

AFP, BEIRUT: Lebanon on Friday mourned 43 people killed in south Beirut in a twin bombing claimed by the Islamic State group, the bloodiest such attack in years. The Red Cross said at least 239 people were also wounded, several in critical condition, in the blasts that hit a busy shopping street in the Burj al-Barajneh neighbourhood, where the Shiite Hezbollah movement is popular. The attack harked back to a campaign against the group between 2013 and 2014, ostensibly in revenge for its military support of regime forces in neighbouring Syrias civil war. But it was the largest attack ever claimed by IS in Lebanon, and among the deadliest bombings to hit the country since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. On Friday, families prepared to collect the bodies of loved ones from hospitals as the country observed a day of national mourning declared by Prime Minister Tammam Salam. Schools were closed for the day, and politicians across Lebanons fractured political spectrum offered condemnations of the attack. The blasts ripped through a street market in the poor, mainly Shiite Muslim neighbourhood, staining the ground red with blood and gutting several surrounding shops.