Two wounded in Lebanon camp blast: Palestinian official (AFP)
5 minutes ago
SIDON, Lebanon (AFP) - Two people were wounded on Friday in a bomb attack targeting an Islamist militant in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, a Palestinian official said.
The bomb in Ain el-Helweh camp targeted Imad Karum, a member of the Islamist Jund al-Sham faction, which has been locked in conflict with the mainstream Palestinian Fatah faction, he said.
Ain el-Helweh, located on the outskirts of the port of Sidon, is the biggest of the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
The camps are considered extremely volatile places and a fertile breeding ground for extremist groups.
In recent months, Ain el-Helweh has seen several clashes between Fatah and the mainly Sunni Jund al-Sham (Soldiers of Damascus).
A bombing targeting a high-ranking religious official left one person dead last month.
The repeated incidents have raised fears that the violence could spiral into an all-out conflict that could spill outside the camp.
Last summer, more than 400 people, including 168 soldiers, were killed in a 15-week battle in the northern Nahr al-Bared camp before the Lebanese army defeated Islamists holed up there.
Extremists believed to have links with Al-Qaeda have settled in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, especially in Ain el-Helweh which has a population of more than 45,000.
The Lebanese army does not enter the camps, leaving responsibility for security to Palestinian factions.
Lebanon, a Palestinian official said.(AFP/File/Mahmoud Zayat)" width="180" height="116" border="0">