August 2013 Tripoli bombing
LocationTripoli, Lebanon
Date23 August 2013
Attack type
Car bombing
Deaths47[1]
Injured800[2]

On 23 August 2013 two mosques were bombed in Tripoli, Lebanon. 47 people were killed and five hundred more injured in what has been called the "biggest and deadliest" bombing in Tripoli since the end of Lebanon's Civil War.[3] and the bombings are widely considered to be part of the spillover of the Syrian Civil War into Lebanon.[4]

The first explosion hit outside the Al-Taqwa Mosque, home of the Sunni preacher Sheikh Salem al-Rafei.[5] A few minutes later, a second blast rocked the Al-Salam Mosque on the streets of al-Mina, an affluent harbour area, home to moderates, businessmen and politicians.[3][6] The two explosions resulted in extensive damage, 47 people were killed and several hundred injured, according to Interior Minister Marwan Charbel.[7] Although nobody has claimed responsibility, it was perceived as an attack on the Lebanese Sunni community, with residents blaming Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah.[8] A "prominent Salafist sheikh", Dai al-Islam Shahhal, said Sunnis in Tripoli would take security in their own hands going forward. He blamed the Syrian government and its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon for the bombings.[9] Al-Qaeda's North African branch, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), threatened retribution against the Shia Muslim group, saying in a statement that it knew "with certainty" that Hezbollah was responsible for the attack. "That vile party … should know that it will meet retribution soon," it said, according to the US-based intelligence monitoring company SITE.[10]

Lebanese security forces arrested Sheik Ahmad al-Ghareeb, suspected for the two deadly blasts, as he appeared in surveillance video footage at the site of one of the explosions. He has ties to a Sunni organization that enjoys good relations with Lebanon's powerful Shiite Hezbollah militant group.[11][12] Another religious cleric, Hashem Minkara, along with three other men, are suspected of forming an armed cell to attack government institutions. The court also charged two Syrians, one an army officer, in absentia for placing the bombs outside the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fernande van Tets (24 August 2013). "Lebanon: Death toll in twin mosques bombings in Tripoli rises to 47". The Independent. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Dozens buried in Lebanon on day of mourning". Deutsche Welle. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 Oliver Holmes, Nazih Siddiq (23 August 2013). "Bombs kill 42 outside mosques in Lebanon's Tripoli". Reuters. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Antoine Amrieh, Misbah al-Ali (23 August 2013). "Car bombs kill 42, wound 400 at n. Lebanon mosques". The Daily Star. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Yolande Knell (23 August 2013). "Lebanese city of Tripoli rocked by deadly explosions". BBC News. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Saad Abedine, Michael Pearson (23 August 2013). "Twin bombings rock mosques in Tripoli, Lebanon". CNN. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "Scores dead in north Lebanon twin blasts". Al Jazeera. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Loveday Morris, Suzan Haidamous (25 August 2013). "Tripoli buries its dead after double bomb attack". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Scores dead in north Lebanon twin blasts". Al Jazeera. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Al-Qaida branch blames Hezbollah for Lebanese bombings". The Guardian. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Ryan Lucas (24 August 2013). "Suspect arrested in Tripoli, Lebanon bombings that killed 47". CTV News. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Bassem Mroue; Zeina Karam (23 August 2013). "Lebanon Explosions: Two Blasts Hit Tripoli". HuffPost. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  13. ↑ BBC News 30 August 2013


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