BICOM

A car bomb in a Shi’ite-dominated neighbourhood in Beirut yesterday killed four people, in further evidence that the violence from Syria is having a major impact in Lebanon.

The bombing took place in the southern Beirut area of Haret Hreik, where a similar bomb killed five people earlier this month. Lebanese state media reported that 44 pounds of explosives were used in the blast, which killed four and wounded at least 35 people. The al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front, a Sunni Islamist group fighting the Assad regime in Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack. They claimed it was in retaliation for Hezbollah’s support for Assad and in particular Friday’s rocket attack on the Syrian rebel stronghold of Arsal in eastern Lebanon.

Several deadly car bombs have been detonated in Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut in recent months. In November a massive bomb attack struck the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, leaving at least 23 people dead. There is significant disquiet among Lebanon’s Sunni population over Hezbollah’s close support for the Assad regime, which has fought alongside Syrian President Assad’s troops. Much of the Syrian opposition forces are comprised of Sunni groups committed to President Assad’s downfall.

Meanwhile, the Times reports that Sunni Lebanese political leader Saad al-Hariri said his faction is prepared to share power with Hezbollah, if it will break a nine-month deadlock to form a Lebanese government. The announcement is particularly significant given the start of the trial in The Hague of four Hezbollah members in absentia, charged with the murder of al-Hariri’s father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut in 2005.

Israeli leaders will be watching Hezbollah’s shifting position with concern, as the organisation wields significant control over southern Lebanon and its border with Israel. In December, five Katyusha rockets were fired towards Israel from southern Lebanon and a Lebanese sniper killed an Israeli soldier conducting a border patrol.