At least nine people were killed and thousands more injured when handheld pagers exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday in an apparent attack on Hezbollah members, according to Hezbollah officials.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency initially reported that “the portable paging system was detonated using advanced technology and dozens of people were reported injured” in Beirut's southern suburbs and other areas. Lebanon's health minister later said at least nine people were killed and 2,750 wounded, 200 of them seriously.
Among those injured when the pagers exploded was Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Iranian state media reported.
A Lebanese security source told Reuters the pagers were carried by Hezbollah members. A Hezbollah official, who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity, described the incident as a detonation that was the “biggest security breach” during the nearly year-long war with Israel. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack. While Hezbollah blamed Israel, the Israeli government has not commented.
HEZBOLLAH NEIGHBORS: ISRAELI BORDER COMMUNITY UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK BY TERRORIST GROUP
Civil Defense emergency response teams transport an injured man whose portable pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Photos and videos from Beirut's southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media show people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their trouser pockets.
“Several hundred” people were wounded in total in different parts of Lebanon when the incident occurred, a Hezbollah official was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
In a statement obtained by Reuters, Hezbollah confirmed the blasts killed at least two of its fighters and a girl.
The girl was the 9-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah fighter who was inside her parents' home when the pagers went off, the Times of Israel reported.
ISRAEL WAS ATTACKED BY A LONG-RANGE MISSILE FROM YEMEN AND 40 ROUNDS FROM LEBANON IN EARLY MORNING ATTACKS
Hezbollah said the cause of the simultaneous explosions was under investigation.
Hezbollah members recently began using pagers that exploded after the group's leader ordered them to stop using cellphones for fear that Israeli intelligence could track the devices.
People gather outside American University Hospital after the arrival of several men who were injured when handheld pagers exploded in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)
Hezbollah is an Islamic terrorist organization that has long been supported by Iran.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matt Miller denied the United States was involved or had knowledge of the incident before the explosions.
“I can tell you that the United States was not involved in this. The United States was not aware of this incident beforehand,” Miller told reporters, adding that the United States is gathering information about the incident.
Police officers inspect a car after a portable pager exploded inside the vehicle in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The incident comes at a time of rising tensions between Lebanon and Israel. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing almost daily for more than 11 months amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah's ally Hamas in Gaza.
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This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
