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Explosion hits near Hezbollah base in east Lebanon | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A Lebanese army soldier stands guard at the scene where a car bomb went off near a Hezbollah base near the village of Sbouba in the Baalbek region eastern Lebanon, early on Tuesday, December 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)


A Lebanese army soldier stands guard at the scene where a car bomb went off near a Hezbollah base near the village of Sbouba in the Baalbek region eastern Lebanon, early on Tuesday, December 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A Lebanese army soldier stands guard at the scene where a car bomb went off near a Hezbollah base near the village of Sbouba in the Baalbek region eastern Lebanon, early on Tuesday, December 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Beirut, AP—A suicide car bomb went off near a Hezbollah base in eastern Lebanon early today, officials said, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks that have targeted the Shi’ite militant group’s interests in Lebanon.

The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said the bomber detonated his vehicle in the remote area of eastern Beqaa Valley near the village of Sbouba in the Baalbek region, about one mile from a base belonging to the Iranian-backed group.

The report said the explosion caused an unspecified number of casualties among Hezbollah members and civilians.

The bombing appeared to be related to a series of reprisal attacks over Hezbollah’s role in the civil war in neighboring Syria, where members of the group are fighting alongside President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops. Hezbollah has received threats of retaliation from the largely Sunni rebels fighting to topple Assad.

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV confirmed that the blast took place near one of the group’s bases, but said there were no casualties. It did not provide any further information. A Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, confirmed the explosion but said there was no immediate word on the nature of the target or casualties.

Footage aired on Lebanese television channels showed several badly damaged vehicles, including the charred, twisted wreckage of an overturned jeep.

The NNA report said that the explosion took place on the road between Sbouba and Wadi Abu Mousa.

It first said the car bomb was “intercepted” at a Hezbollah checkpoint and exploded after members of the checkpoint fired on it. It was unclear if the car detonated from the gunshots or if the driver set off the explosion. Later, the NNA said that it was a suicide bomber who caused multiple casualties, adding that ambulances rushed to the area, which was sealed off by the militant group and later, the army.

Hezbollah’s participation in the civil war in Syria is highly divisive and unpopular in Lebanon, where many feel it has deviated from its original purpose of fighting Israel, and that it has exposed the Shi’ite community to retaliation.

The group’s open support of Assad has enraged Sunnis—both in Syria and in Lebanon—and left it with no shortage of enemies eager to strike at its strongholds and leadership. Dozens of people have been killed in deadly car bombings claimed to have been carried out by radical Sunni groups in Lebanon.

Most recently, on December 4, gunmen assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander, Hassan Al-Laqqis, in the garage of his building in a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut.

And last month, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, killing 23 people. An Al-Qaeda-affiliated group claimed responsibility, saying it was payback for Hezbollah’s support of Assad.

Hezbollah has been instrumental in helping Assad’s forces seize opposition-held areas, particularly in areas along the border with Lebanon and near Damascus.