ISIS Reportedly Claims Responsibility For The Double Suicide Bombing In Beirut That Led To 40 Deaths And Hundreds Of Injuries
Lebanon has faced their worst terrorist attack this year as a double suicide bombing incident in Beirut allegedly killed 43 people and injured 239 more, reported The Guardian on Thursday.
The attack that targeted the Shia-majority district of Burj al-Barajneh was the first major suicide bombing ever reported in the country, with the number of casualties expected to increase as search and rescue operations continue.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) allegedly claimed responsibility for the horrific attack through the social media, revealing that the first suicide bomber had parked a motorcycle equipped with explosives in the neighborhood, while the second bomber, wearing a suicide vest, detonated in the crowd that gathered following the first attack.
"We condemn this cowardly criminal act that can never be justified," said Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam, "and we call on the Lebanese to be more watchful and united against strife."
According to CNN on Friday, a Lebanese from Tripoli who survived the attack was taken into custody after he told the investigators that he was an ISIS recruit and a would-be suicide bomber. He admitted that he, along with three other attackers, arrived in Lebanon from Syria just two days ago.
Investigators are still trying to find out whether the claims of the surviving suspect are factual or not, considering that Burj al-Barajneh is considered a stronghold of Shia Islamist militant group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah vowed to persist in their fight against terrorists and warned their enemies of a "long war" following the devastating incident in Lebanon, noted BBC on Friday.
"They targeted civilians, worshippers, women and the elderly," said Hezbollah MP Bilal Farhat. "It only targeted those innocent people. This is Satanic terrorist act, carried out by apostates."
The group's bastion in southern Beirut had been a target in a series of bombing incidents in 2013 and 2014, which jihadist militants mostly claimed responsibility for following Hezbollah's move to deploy fighters to Syria in effort to support President Bashar al-Assad in the battle against rebel forces.
