Bomb blast in Beirut kills at least 8

 
BEIRUT -- A midday explosion rocked a busy commercial area of Beirut on Friday, leaving at least eight dead and 78 injured in the Lebanese capital, according to official and media reports.

There were some reports that the explosion may have occurred inside a building, but the official Lebanese news agency reported that the blast was from a car bomb and that there were "numerous casualties."

There was no immediate word on who was responsible for the blast. Nor was it clear what site may have been targeted.

PHOTOS: Bomb blast in Beirut

Video from the scene painted a panorama of chaos, as the injured were led away and people tried to determine the fate of loved ones. In one clip, a man carried an injured young girl away from the scene.

Black smoke hung over the district and thick flames arose from the site of the explosion. Firefighters with hoses tried to douse the blaze. Police cordoned off the area, making access difficult for journalists.

Damaged cars and blown-out storefronts were evident in the video from the scene, near Sassine Square in the Achrafiyeh district, the city’s signature Christian neighborhood. The bustling, landmark square is the site of many cafes, shops and residential buildings, and is a popular meeting spot. The blast occurred in the middle of the afternoon, when the zone was filled with pedestrians and motorists.

The explosion stunned the Lebanese capital, which witnessed a bloody civil war that ended in 1990, and immediately stoked new fears that the explosion could be linked to the ongoing violence in neighboring Syria. The conflict has split Lebanon, with some groups supporting rebels trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad and other Lebanese factions backing his regime.

There has been some spillover violence into Lebanon, but such incidents have mostly been limited to the border areas, where shelling, kidnappings and gunfights have occurred.

Lebanon's punishing, sectarian-tinged civil war lasted for 15 years until a peace plan was put into place. Syrian troops remained in Lebanon until 2005, when outrage about the assassination of a former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri forced their withdrawal. The Syrian government and its ally, Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group, denied any role in the 2005 assassination of Hariri, who was killed in a massive truck-bomb blast in Beirut.

Lebanon's government remains a fragile mixture of often rival groups linked to religious and political factions. Still, the country has been relatively stable and recently hosted a visit from the pope, an event that went off without incident and drew huge crowds.

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Activists: Airstrike on Syrian city kills at least 30 civilians

BEIRUT -- At least 30 civilians, many of them women and children, were killed Thursday in an airstrike on the northern Syrian city of Maarat Numan, activists said.

The city, strategically located on the main highway that connects Syria's two major cities, Aleppo and Damascus, has been the site of more than a week of fierce clashes and intense shelling by government helicopters and warplanes.

Thursday's attack came a day after activists posted a video showing what they said was a government helicopter shot down by rebels near the city.

PHOTOS: Living under siege: Life in Aleppo, Syria

A missile fired by a MiG warplane hit a residential neighborhood about noon, destroying four buildings and four homes and damaging a nearby mosque, said opposition activist Ahmad Halabi.

U.N. envoy presses for cease-fire in Syria

BEIRUT -- The United Nations envoy to Syria continued Wednesday to push for a four-day cease-fire in the fighting and called it a "microscopic" step toward ending a conflict that could consume the entire Middle East, news agencies reported.

Lakhdar Brahimi was in Beirut in attempt to gather more support for a temporary truce between government and rebel forces during Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday. He told reporters that the rebels have said they would observe a cease-fire if it is initiated by the President Bashar Assad's government.

"The Syrian people are burying hundreds of people each day, so if they bury fewer people during the days of the holiday, this could be the start of Syria's return from the dangerous situation that it has slipped and is continuing to slip toward," he said, according to the Associated Press.

Since he took over in August for former envoy Kofi Annan, Brahimi has been publicly candid about what he says are his slim chances of brokering peace in Syria.

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi said that any initiative would require commitment by all sides. He blamed the unraveling of previous agreements -- namely a six-point peace plan proposed by Annan -- on opposition groups and countries that support them.

Turks search aid flight, let plane fly on to Syria

BEIRUT -- A plane headed from Armenia to Syria that was grounded and searched Monday in Turkey was carrying only humanitarian aid, the Turkish foreign minister said.

After the plane's cargo was examined it was allowed to continue to the besieged city of Aleppo, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

It was the second time in a week that Turkey ordered a plane to land in an attempt to prevent weapons from being sent to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Armenia requested to use Turkish airspace and was granted permission on the condition that its cargo be searched.

Last Wednesday, a passenger plane heading from Moscow to Damascus was forced to land amid suspicion that it was carrying weapons. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the plane was carrying ammunition, and other reports said it contained military communications equipment.

On Saturday, Turkey announced that it was closing its airspace to Syrian civilian flights. Earlier, it had barred Syrian military flights from flying over Turkey.

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Photo: An Armenian plane is seen after it was forced to land Monday at Erzurum Airport in eastern Turkey. Credit: European Pressphoto Agency / Zehra Melek Cat / Anadolu Agency.

Syrian military using cluster bombs, rights group charges

BEIRUT -- The Syrian military has used cluster bombs against civilians throughout the country in recent months, a human rights group charged Sunday.

Many of the cluster strikes were near the city of Maarat Numan in Idlib province, where Free Syrian Army rebels last week launched an offensive to free the city of government checkpoints, Human Rights Watch said in its report. The city is strategically situated along the main highway that connects the major cities of Aleppo and Damascus, the capital.

Towns in several other provinces, including on the outskirts of Damascus, were also hit with the cluster bombs, the international organization said. It did not have figures for how many people were killed in these attacks.

Cluster munitions explode in the air, sending dozens or more smaller bombs over a large area. But the smaller bombs often don’t explode on initial impact, leaving the munitions to act like landmines and explode when handled, the group said.

More than 100 countries have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of cluster munitions and requires clearance of contaminated areas and assistance to victims. Syria is not a party to the convention.

Syrian rebel group claims responsibility for Damascus blast

BEIRUT -– A Syrian rebel group claimed responsibility for the detonation of explosives in a military judiciary building Thursday night that rocked Damascus, the capital. 

The explosion, which occurred near Ummayed Square, targeted a meeting of judges and military officers who oversee the military court that tries and sentences opposition members or those accused of supporting the opposition, said a spokesman for the Ahfad Rasul brigade, which said it carried out the attack.

“They don’t hand down any sentence other than execution,” said the spokesman, Nabil Amir.

Information on casualties and damages was not immediately available.

A statement released by the group said the attack was in response to the massacres the regime has been committing against the Syrian people. The building “has been turned into a slaughterhouse for the activists and detainees.”

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Turkish leader says flight to Syria carried ammunition

BEIRUT -- A Syrian plane intercepted and forced to land in Turkey was carrying Russian ammunition as well as previously reported military communications equipment, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Thursday.

The passenger plane, which was coming from Moscow, was held on the ground for several hours Wednesday as Turkish authorities searched the plane and seized 10 boxes before allowing the flight to continue to Damascus, the Syrian capital. Its cargo apparently was destined for Syria as well.

Erdogan said Turkey was still examining the equipment, the Associated Press reported.

Syria has denied the plane, a Syrian Air Airbus A320, was carrying any weapons or prohibited goods.

Turkey said it had intercepted the plane based on national and international rules and regulations.

"The cargo was not suitable for a civil plane under international rules and regulations,” said Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim, the official Anadolu news agency reported. "An air space must be utilized for peaceful purposes. Otherwise, we will use our rights stemming from national and international laws. We used the rights on Wednesday and will use them in the future whenever necessary.”

The incident comes amid increasing tension between the two countries as Turkey has traded mortar fire with Syria in recent days, a week after a Syrian shell killed five people across the border. Turkey’s top military commander warned Wednesday that his country would respond forcefully to any further shelling of its territory.

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Turkish media: Syria-bound jet had military communications gear

--Times staff writer

Photo: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday. Credit: Associated Press

Turkish media: Syria-bound jet had military communications gear

BEIRUT -- Turkish state media reported Thursday that a Syrian passenger plane intercepted and forced to land in Turkey was carrying military communications equipment.

The plane, en route from Moscow to Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday night, was searched for five hours at the airport in the Turkish capital of Ankara and officials found 10 sealed boxes addressed to the Syrian Defense Ministry, Turkish television TRT reported. After confiscating the boxes, the plane and its 37 passengers and crew were allowed to continue on to Damascus.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry said the plane’s cargo did not include any weapons or prohibited goods, Syrian state media reported. It added that all of the cargo had been registered on the flight manifest.

PHOTOS: Living under siege: Life in Aleppo, Syria

Syrian Arab Airlines director Ghaida Abdullatif told Syrian state media that Turkish authorities assaulted the plane’s crew members when they refused to sign a document saying that the plane made an emergency landing.

The incident comes amid increasing tension between the two countries as Turkey has traded mortar and artillery fire with Syria in recent days, a week after a Syrian shell killed five people across the border. Turkey’s top military commander warned Wednesday that his country would respond forcefully to any further shelling of its territory.

About 60 people killed in Syrian airstrikes, say activists

BEIRUT -- Syrian government forces continued airstrikes on the northern city of Maarat Numan in Idlib province on Tuesday, leaving an estimated 60 people dead, activists said.

Of those killed, more than 40 reportedly were civilians, including a woman and her five children, said Idlib activist Alaa Aldeen Yousef.

There was no immediate response from the government to the activists' charge, which could not be independently verified.

The air attacks by MiG fighter jets, described as some of the worst in Idlib in months, began overnight hours after Free Syrian Army rebels launched an offensive to take the city from government control by attacking several army checkpoints.

“The fighting won’t end till all the checkpoints are gone,” said Ahmad Halabi, an activist in the city. “The planning has been ongoing for two months but we were waiting to unite the ranks and get the weapons.”

Turkey shells Syrian targets but says war not on agenda

 
BEIRUT -- Turkey on Thursday resumed retaliatory shelling of targets inside Syria, but a top Turkish official said Ankara had "no interest" in declaring war on its neighbor, according to various reports.

Turkey began artillery attacks Wednesday on Syrian positions near the border district of Tal Abyad, Syrian opposition representatives said, and the Turkish bombardment reportedly continued early Thursday.

A top aide to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on his Twitter account that a full-blown war with Syria was not Ankara's aim, Turkey's English-language Hurriyet Daily News reported on its website.

"Turkey has no interest in a war with Syria," wrote Ibrahim Kalin, according to Hurriyet. “But Turkey is capable of protecting its borders and will retaliate when necessary."

Turkish officials seemed satisfied that the artillery fire had signaled their outrage about Syrian shelling inside Turkey that caused several deaths. Turkey's move followed a number of Syrian actions that the Turks viewed as provocative, including the downing of a Turkish fighter jet over the eastern Mediterranean in June, killing two pilots.

Still unclear is how Syria will respond to the Turkish bombardment.