Before It’s News – by Mort Amsel
The Lebanese Red Cross says more than 20 people have been killed by two blasts in the northern city of Tripoli.
As Friday prayers ended, a blast hit the al-Taqwa mosque, usually attended by prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Salem Rafii. His fate is not clear.
A second blast five minutes later hit the city’s al-Salam mosque. The Lebanese Health Minister said 27 people were killed and 358 people were wounded but that number is likely to change as the situation is still on going.
Meanwile, Israeli jets have bombed a target south of Beirut a day after rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel.
They targeted a “terror site” near the coastal town of Naameh, between Beirut and Sidon, the Israeli military said.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) said one of its bases had been hit though they deny launching the rockets at Israel. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed the attack on Israel. Four rockets were fired at Israel from Tyre with 1 being intercepted by Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ defense. They cause minor damage. No casualties were reported.
Lebanon seems to be unraveling some here. The bombings in Tripoli today I think are in revenge for the bombing in southern Beirut on the 15th that killed and wounded a similar number of people. Tit for tat bombings. The rocket attacks are a new ‘front’ tho and one that serves Israel’s interest giving them a reason to invade Lebanon which would take Hezbollah out of the Syrian civil war. Given that the Abdullah Azzam Brigades are Al-Qaeda connected and the west supports Al-Qaeda in Syria, that makes sense now. It also makes sense why Israel bombed the pro-Assad PFLP-GC afterwards too instead of the actual culprits. -Mort