Three people were killed in a mysterious blast in Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut, security officials said on Sunday, including two members of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
"The death toll from Saturday night's explosion has risen to three, after one of the wounded died of his injuries," a Lebanese security official said.
Earlier today, a Hamas spokesman told Al-Arabiya television that the Beirut explosion had killed two members of his movement and wounded three people.
"The explosion in the southern suburbs resulted in the martyrdom of two members of Hamas and wounded three other people," the spokesman, Ayman Taha, said on the Saudi-owned, Dubai-based station.
He added that "the circumstances of the explosion are unclear and it is too early to name the party" responsible.
Hamas and Hezbollah -- which are both backed by Iran and Syria -- are close allies and archfoes of Israel, and members of the Palestinian movement are based in the Lebanese capital.
Attacks are rare in the Beirut stronghold of the Shiite Hezbollah -- a militant group now part of the Lebanese government of Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri -- as the group maintains tight security.
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman denounced the blast, blaming it on the "enemies" of Lebanon.
{{/usCountry}}Lebanese President Michel Sleiman denounced the blast, blaming it on the "enemies" of Lebanon.
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