Breaking: Suicide attack kills several in south Beirut

Several people have been killed and dozens injured after a suicide bomber struck the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday morning.

The blast took place on Arid Street at 10:55 am, the same busy commercial street that was targeted by a deadly suicide car bombing in early January. The death toll was marked at four, with at least 30 people injured, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

The state media also stated that the "remains of the suicide bomber body" were found strewn at the blast site, while Lebanese channel Al-Manar TV reported that the car used in the blast was a Kia Sportage.

Speaking to Al-Akhbar, many of the residents were defiant after the bombing.

"This is our home and we will never leave it. We were born here and God willing, we will die here. Even if there is a 100 bombs in one day, it strengthens us, we carry on. There is nothing in this area, there is no Hezbollah and no army, just civilians," Houssam Wehbe, a 21 year-old resident of the neighborhood said to Al-Akhbar's reporter at the scene.

Speaking to Lebanese channel Al-Manar TV, the Lebanese health minister Ali Hassan Khalil stated: "This attack has killed at least two people, and injured 26."

"There isn't much we can do about such attacks and they seek to sow fear," he added.

For his part, Lebanese Druze leader and member of parliament Walid Jumblatt condemned the attack in a statement to the press, saying, "Lebanon has been immersed in an episode of madness."

In another vein, leading member of the Phalange party Sami Gemayel in comments to New TV argued that Hezbollah's involvement in Syria was putting Lebanon at risk.

"The only solution for us is to pull out of the regional stage. The Lebanese are paying a high price," he said.

It was a sentiment not shared by many residents in Haret Hreik.

"The situation is scary, a couple weeks ago the bomb happened here, and before that there was one further down the road, there is no solution to this. If Hezbollah leaves Syria, [the culprits] will come to Lebanon. They will bring their war here. Hezbollah went to Syria to prevent this from happening. We [in the neighborhood] are all with Hezbollah," Hussein Fakih, 25, had said to Al-Akhbar.

"In Lebanon we all live together. Shia live with Sunni. Shia lives with Christians, Christians lives with Sunni. But no one can live with Salafists. We are not scared of this, we got used to it," Abdallah Bou Melhem, 20-year-old university student, said.

Large plumes of smoke could be seen rising above the southern suburbs, and huge crowds gathered around the explosion site as emergency services attempted to remove those wounded from the area.

The Disaster Risk Management Unit (DRM) called on citizens to stay away from the blast scene in order to ease the rescue work and the Lebanese army has currently mobilized to cordoned off the scene.

Meanwhile, clashes erupted between the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in Lebanese northern city of Tripoli after a brief lull, in which a child was killed according to the Lebanese state media.