Bomb explodes north of Beirut; 1 killed

[August 11, 2011]  BEIRUT (AP) -- A bomb went off in a north Beirut suburb Thursday, killing one person and wounding another, security officials said.

It was not immediately clear if the explosion in the busy suburb of Antelias was a roadside bomb or a hand grenade, the security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with regulations.

The explosion in a parking lot damaging to at least four cars, including one with judicial license plates, the officials said.

Shortly after the explosion went off, security forces sealed the area and brought in bomb sniffing dogs.

The Lebanese Red Cross said two people were wounded and rescued from a vehicle apparently damaged by the explosion.

George Kitane, head of paramedics at the Lebanese Red Cross, told the local MTV station that one person was very seriously wounded while the other is in coma. He added that the person who was critically injured "had most probably" died in hospital.

Such explosions are not uncommon in Lebanon but there have been no targeted killings in the past three years.

[Associated Press; By BASSEM MROUE]

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