Explosion kills Hamas member in Beirut

BEIRUT - A member of the Palestinian movement Hamas was killed and two others were wounded Saturday when a bomb exploded in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a hotbed of Lebanon’s militant Shia group Hezbollah, media reports and a security source said.

Hamas officials were unreachable for comment.

The explosion occured in a parking lot near Hert Hreik district, near the offices of Hamas in the area, a Lebanese security source said.

A witness, who requested anonymity, said ambulances with wailing sirens were rushing to the area and were seen transferring several wounded or dead people to hospitals inside the southern suburbs.

Officials from Hezbollah’s press office said they heard nothing about an explosion.

But Hezbollah militants have cordoned off the area and prevented anyone from approaching the area.

The reports of the incident came after Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah delivered a televised speech to mark the annual Shia commemoration of Ashura, that marks the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.