Internal Security Forces Director General Achraf Rifi told NOW Lebanon that a suspect had been arrested in the bombing that targeted a public transportation bus on Wednesday in Tripoli.
An explosion occurred Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. on Al-Masaref Street in Tripoli targeting a bus carrying civilians and soldiers.
“Early investigations have shown that the bomb was placed outside the bus, and it was probably detonated from a remote distance,” Rifi said.
Rifi reported that the Lebanese Armed Forces officially placed the death toll at 11, including 9 soldiers and two civilians, and 51 were injured.
The Voice of Lebanon radio station, however, reported that at least 18 people were killed in the explosion, among them ten soldiers, including Sergeant Mohammad Mustafa Merhi.
The National News Agency released the names of eleven of the people who were killed in the bombing, as follows: Mohammad Abu Bakr, Mohammad al-Omari, Habib Batch, Abdul Rahman Zoreiqa, Omar Khodor Aicha, Mohammad Mustafa Merhi, Mohammad Khodor, Mohammad al-Dehaybe, Ziad Abdul Karim, Fawaz Khalaf and Hussein al-Zughbi.
General Rifi declined to tie Wednesday’s bombing to the ongoing clashes that have been breaking out in Tripoli since May, also noting that the suspects cannot be named before the investigations are concluded.
“The military experts’ report is unfinished, and the security and juridical committees are still gathering evidence,” Rifi said.
The bus was five meters away from the bomb when it exploded, leaving a 30 centimeter hole in the ground. The Lebanese army has cordoned off the area and is investigating the incident.
Wednesday morning’s explosion follows a gun battle that occurred around 1:00 a.m. between the Al-Mankoubine quarter of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli.
The incident sparked fears of the renewal of clashes between the two areas.
In addition, the Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported that residents of Bab al-Tabbaneh said that four gunmen from Jabal Mohsen kidnapped a girl from the Al-Qobbeh quarter at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday.