Lebanon: Car bomb rocks Hezbollah stronghold of Beirut wounding at least 53 people
A powerful car bomb exploded in a Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, wounding at least 53 people in the most troubling sign yet that Syria’s civil war is beginning to consume its smaller neighbor.
The blast in the heart of the Shiite militant group’s bastion of support raised the worrying specter of Lebanon being pulled into the violent Sunni-Shiite struggle in the region, with sectarian killings similar to those plaguing Syria and Iraq.
The Syrian conflict, now in its third year, is whipping up sectarian fervor. Sunni-Shiite tensions have risen sharply, particularly since Hezbollah raised its profile by openly fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces. Lebanese Sunnis support the rebels fighting to topple Assad.