By Xinhua
Beirut : Lebanese Red Cross Committee announced that at least four people were killed and 20 others injured in a powerful explosion in a Christian neighborhood in Beirut on Friday, the official National News Agency reported.
The blast, which occurred at around 10 a.m. (0800 GMT), targeted a military vehicle in the Chevrolet neighborhood northeast of Beirut.
The report also quoted Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF)’s chief, Brig. Gen. Ashraf Rifi as saying at the scene of the explosion that Capt. Wissam Eid, a senior officer with the ISF’s Intelligence Bureau, was killed in the blast along with three or four civilians.
Earlier, local private Future TV reported that the blast left ten persons dead.
During the latest three years, Lebanon has been rocked by a series of blasts, starting with the Oct. 1, 2004 assassination attempt against Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade.
The most recent attempt occurred on Jan. 15, when a U.S. Embassy vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in northern Beirut, killing three persons and wounding 21 others.