LEBANON FACED ANOTHER EXPLOSION DUE TO TECHNICAL ERROR
Lebanon faced yet another explosion after a fire broke out in the village of Ain Qana, 30 miles south of Beirut.
An eruption of smoke was seen over a suspected Hezbollah arms depot where several people are feared injured. Hezbollah operatives surrounded the blast site which was devastated by last month's port disaster.
Security sources confirmed that the blast was caused by a 'technical error' and had caused a number of injuries. Hezbollah officials however, have not confirmed any casualties as yet.
A witness near the village stated that they felt the ground shake while the explosion went off. In footage taken of the blast, damage was seen in an adjacent house where the floor was covered in glass and what appeared to be a pool of blood.
A Lebanese security official confirmed that the explosion had happened at an arms depot.
A military source also stated that preliminary information showed the blast happened at a "Hezbollah centre containing munitions".
Residents in the area said ambulances had carried away several injured people. Lebanon's National News Agency also reported limited material damage after the explosion. NNA stated further that the explosion coincided with intense Israeli overflights which was air-bound since Tuesday morning.
Hezbollah and Israel fought a month-long war in 2006. The Iran-backed group is thought to have amassed tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, however the Israeli military declined to comment on the blast.
The Iran-backed group is known to be heavily armed. However, its political wing has been a major player in Lebanese governments in recent years. The group's efforts to recover from the Beirut blast have been hampered by Hezbollah's insistence on holding onto key ministries.
Recently the US placed more pressure on Europe to ban Hezbollah altogether, with the claim that the group had stores of explosions in several destinations, which included supplies of ammonium nitrate, the chemical blamed for the disaster in Beirut.
But the former colonial power in Lebanon, France, said there was "nothing tangible to confirm such an allegation". The blast was blamed on corruption and incompetence among Lebanon's ruling class, and now the country is urging for reformation.
The government had resign after the blast, which happened due to a stash of ammonium nitrate that was stored unsecured in a warehouse at the port, which killed nearly 200 people and injured 6,500 others. In their efforts to form a new government, President Michel Aoun warned that the country could be going to "hell", if no new ministry takes shape.
Beirut has since been hit by several other fires and explosions, including one at a landmark shopping centre designed by British-Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid.
Lebanese authorities have conducted a local investigation that has so far led to the arrest of 25 people.