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At least seven hurt as blasts rip through fuel storage warehouse in Lebanon

A massive fire broke out at a warehouse on the Lebanese-Syria border on Sunday, injuring seven people and causing loud explosions, the Lebanese Red Cross and army said.

The facility in the border area of al-Qasr, where the line between the two countries is highly permeable, was used to store fuel and gas canisters.  

AFP news agency reported that the blast happened in the Lebanese Hermel governorate in the eastern Bekaa valley. 

The Lebanese Red Cross said the wounded had been taken to hospital and Lebanon's LBC reported that Civil Defense personnel put out the fire. 

The Lebanese army said the explosions had occurred away from one of its checkpoints and that none of its members were injured.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire and explosions, however smuggling of fuel and diesel is rampant between Lebanon and Syria.

A massive fire broke out at a warehouse on the Lebanese-Syria border on Sunday, injuring seven people and causing loud explosions, the Lebanese Red Cross and army said. The facility in the border area of al-Qasr, where the line between the two countries is highly permeable, was used to store fuel and gas canisters

A massive fire broke out at a warehouse on the Lebanese-Syria border on Sunday, injuring seven people and causing loud explosions, the Lebanese Red Cross and army said. The facility in the border area of al-Qasr, where the line between the two countries is highly permeable, was used to store fuel and gas canisters

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire and explosions, however smuggling of fuel and diesel is rampant between Lebanon and Syria and has increased in recent months as the two countries' already weak economies struggle with the fallout from the coronavirus

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire and explosions, however smuggling of fuel and diesel is rampant between Lebanon and Syria and has increased in recent months as the two countries' already weak economies struggle with the fallout from the coronavirus 

AFP news agency reported that the blast happened in the Lebanese Hermel governorate in the eastern Bekaa valley

AFP news agency reported that the blast happened in the Lebanese Hermel governorate in the eastern Bekaa valley

Many suspect the warehouse was used to store contraband, and LBC TV said the warehouse was used by smugglers, according to the Associated Press.

Both countries are enduring crippling economic conditions that have seen smuggling increase in recent months.

In its statement, the Lebanese army said the warehouse was owned by a Lebanese family, but did not say whether it was used for smuggling fuel.

The explosion came at a time of increased tension in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was a major ally of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, in Iraq.

Sunday's fire started while Israeli jets were flying low over Lebanon and as the head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah was delivering a speech to commemorate Soleimani's death. 

The explosion came at a time of increased tension in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (depicted left), who was a major ally of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, in Iraq. Pictured: An event in the Iraqi capital Baghdad marks the assassination of Soleimani along with Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (depicted right), who also died in the attack last January

The explosion came at a time of increased tension in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (depicted left), who was a major ally of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, in Iraq. Pictured: An event in the Iraqi capital Baghdad marks the assassination of Soleimani along with Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (depicted right), who also died in the attack last January

Sunday's fire started while Israeli jets were flying low over Lebanon and as the head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah (pictured) was delivering a speech to commemorate Soleimani's death

Sunday's fire started while Israeli jets were flying low over Lebanon and as the head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah was delivering a speech to commemorate Soleimani's death

The presence of the Israeli jets added to confusion over the source of the explosion. 

Israeli jets regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have often struck targets in Syria from Lebanese territory.

The explosion is just the latest to hit Lebanon since an enormous blast at a port in the capital, Beirut, last August. 

The blast devastated the city, killing more than 200 people, injuring thousands and destroying homes and businesses amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

It was found that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored in a warehouse at the port and that officials had been warned of the dangers of storing such a large amount of unstable material in the area prior to the explosion.

The devastation caused added to public anger at the Lebanese government which had already spawned huge protests in late 2019 which forced then-prime minister Saad Hariri to step down. 

His replacement Hassan Diab resigned shortly after the port explosion and in late 2020 Hariri was asked to form a government. 

Diab and three other high-ranking former officials have been charged with negligence over the blast. 

A month after the explosion, a huge fire broke out at a warehouse storing aid in the Beirut port.  

The enormous explosion at Beirut's port last August was captured in social media footage after a smaller initial eruption caught the attention of residents [File photo]

The enormous explosion at Beirut's port last August was captured in social media footage after a smaller initial eruption caught the attention of residents File

The explosion site is seen through the blown-out window of a building in this August 5 photo [File photo]

The explosion site is seen through the blown-out window of a building in this August 5 photo File

The blast destroyed historic buildings even streets away from the port that now risk collapse after standing for more than a century [File photo]

The blast destroyed historic buildings even streets away from the port that now risk collapse after standing for more than a century File

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