Car bomb rocks Beirut

Al Jazeera
Saturday 17 September 2005,

The blast occured in the Jeitaoui residential quarter

At least one person was killed and 19 wounded late on Friday in a car
bomb explosion in a Christian section of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Police and rescue workers said the blast near a bank and hospital in
the Jeitaoui residential quarter on the southern slope of Achrafieh
hill came just before midnight (2100 GMT).

The explosion, heard several kilometres away, caused numerous fires in
nearby buildings and cars, which were visible from vantage points in
the city.

Security services said at least 15 kilograms (30 pounds) of explosives
were used, either packed inside or underneath a car.

“What we lived this night was like hell,” Eva Nashleklian told Reuters
news-agency as she wiped blood off her arm.

The facade of a four-storey apartment building was completely
destroyed, balconies collapsed, and cars parked nearby were burned
out.

The explosion blew out all the windows in buildings in the
neighbourhood and caused numerous fires, which were visible from
vantage points in the city.

The man killed was a Lebanese citizen of Armenian origin, and one of
the wounded was in serious condition, said police.

A series of explosions have targeted Christian-dominated areas in
Beirut since the February killing of former Prime Minister Rafiq
al-Hariri and 20 others in a huge car bomb.