Bomb kills one in Palestinian camp in Lebanon (AFP)
22 minutes ago
AIN EL-HELWEH, Lebanon (AFP) - One man was killed when a bomb exploded in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of the Lebanese port city of Sidon on Tuesday, a Palestinian official told AFP.
"One person was killed and four others were wounded," said Munir Maqdah, the camp's Fatah commander who heads a multi-factional security committee.
It was the latest in a spate of outbreaks of violence in Ain el-Helweh, the most populous of Lebanon's dozen Palestinian refugee camps with more than 45,000 residents.
A witness told AFP that gunfire was heard after the bombing.
Dozens of masked gunmen took to the streets and blocked off access to the scene.
An official said the bomb was hidden behind a motorcycle that was reduced to mangled metal by the blast.
The official said the bomb exploded near the camp's Noor mosque, which houses an office belonging to Sheikh Jamal al-Khattab, spokesperson for the Islamic Movements Alliance.
The alliance is an an umbrella group of Islamist factions that works with the Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in providing security in the camp.
The official identified the dead man as Ahmed Mostafa Qassem, 17 who was inside the mosque's prayer room when the bomb exploded.
The mosque was badly damaged with shattered glass and shrapnel covering the floor.
Last week, three people were killed in clashes in the camp between Fatah and Jund al-Sham (Soldiers of Damascus), an Islamist group which is not part of the Islamic Movements Alliance.
By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the camps leaving responsibility for security to the Palestinian factions.
