As our correspondent Anne Barnard reports from Beirut, a large bomb exploded in a mostly Christian area in the central part of the city, killing at least eight people and wounding many others, according to witnesses and civil defense officials in Lebanon.
Panic spread across the city as the bombing and neighboring conflict in Syria reminded people of sectarian violence from Lebanon's civil war. It is not yet confirmed if a political figure or a group was the target of the blast or connected to the growing violence in Syria.
Yorgo El-Bittar, a Lebanese journalist, was one of the first people at the scene and shared updates and photos on Twitter.
#achrafieh #lebanon #explosion #damage http://t.co/gIVvfCzQ
- Yorgo El-Bittar (@YorgoElBittar) 19 Oct 12
at least 8 killed in #achrafieh #explosion #Lebanon http://t.co/OCOfDFNW
- Yorgo El-Bittar (@YorgoElBittar) 19 Oct 12
explosion in #achrafieh รข" #Lebanon http://t.co/YljLOXpp
- Yorgo El-Bittar (@YorgoElBittar) 19 Oct 12
new pic from #achrafieh #beirut #Lebanon #explosion http://t.co/jGWz9SRd
- Yorgo El-Bittar (@YorgoElBittar) 19 Oct 12
#achrafieh #lebanon #explosion http://t.co/X3p6gaa6
- Yorgo El-Bittar (@YorgoElBittar) 19 Oct 12
A reporter on the scene for Al Jazeera said in this video that the blast was so large that it might not have been a car bomb.
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