Arrests made in relation to Beirut bombing

Arab media reports car used in bomb which killed 25 in Lebanon's capital was tailed for two months until it recently fell under radar. Previous driver arrested; several Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians too

Roi Kais|Published: 08.17.13 , 12:23

Lebanese sources said several arrests have been made in relation to Thursday's car bomb in Beirut's Hezbollah stronghold, the London-based al-Hayat newspaper reported.

According to the report, one of the arrested men is suspected of having previously driven in the same car which exploded this week, killing 25 people in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Lebanon's capital.

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According to the report, said car has raised security services' suspicions long before the bombing, and has been under surveillance for the past two months, after hints surfaced that several groups are preparing car bombs targeting the southern neighborhood of Beirut.

Charred remains of blast (Photo: AP)

The car, said the report, was previously sighted in several of the Dahiyeh areas, but gave its trackers the slip a few weeks ago.

According to Lebanese media, the car was a black, 2002 BMW.

The Kuwaiti newspaper a-Rai also reported Saturday morning that internal security service in Lebanon arrested several Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian resident for their alleged involvement in Thursday's bombing.

Wounded in Beirut (Photo: AFP)

On Friday, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech from his hideout to a rally held by his group to mark "Hezbollah's victory" in the Second Lebanon War .

In the event, held at the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab, Nasrallah expressed his condolences over the casualties, referring to the blast as a "massacre" committed by Sunni extremists.

Firefighters at the scene (Photo: AFP)

He clarified that he would not back off his involvement in the fighting in Syria, declaring that "if the battle requires me to go there myself, I will go."

Turning to those hurt in the attack, Nasrallah said: "They want to harm your determination and commitment to the resistance (against Israel). These murderers want to cause an emotional reaction which will lead to a war between brothers and a destruction of the country."

Anti-Assad groups have repeatedly threatened to target Hezbollah due to the aid it offers the Damascus regime in its bloody war against the Syrian rebels.

After Thursday's bombing a group named "Aisha the Mother of Believers Brigades for Foreign Missions" posted a video online in which it claimed responsibility for the bombing.