Two powerful explosions ripped through neighborhoods near mosques in the northern Lebanon city of Tripoli on Friday.
At least 27 people died and 600 were wounded in the bomb blasts, Lebanese Red Cross head George Kettanah told CNN. Earlier, the state-run National News Agency had reported a higher death toll, also attributed to him.
There was heavy gunfire after the explosions, Tripoli residents told CNN. While the motive for the attacks was unclear, NNA said they appeared to target mosques run by imams with ties to Syrian rebels.
Lebanon has been the scene of increasing sectarian violence recently, including battles between supporters and opponents of the regime in Lebanon's neighbor to the east, which is currently torn by a bloody civil war.
The Lebanese army said it had established a security cordon around the blast sites. The bombs caused "great material damage" in addition to the casualties, the army said.
The first blast occurred near the Sunni al Taqwa mosque, NNA said.
The second occurred minutes later near al Salam mosque, another Sunni mosque that is close to the residence of acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as well as Samir Al-Jisr, a Sunni member of parliament and the former head of the country's Internal Security Forces, Ashraf Rifi.
Rifi is despised by Hezbollah and Lebanese politicians friendly to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
It was unclear if any of those figures were targets of the attack, but NNA said the mosques' two Salafist sheikhs were unharmed.
At least 27 people died and 600 were wounded in the bomb blasts, Lebanese Red Cross head George Kettanah told CNN. Earlier, the state-run National News Agency had reported a higher death toll, also attributed to him.
There was heavy gunfire after the explosions, Tripoli residents told CNN. While the motive for the attacks was unclear, NNA said they appeared to target mosques run by imams with ties to Syrian rebels.
Lebanon has been the scene of increasing sectarian violence recently, including battles between supporters and opponents of the regime in Lebanon's neighbor to the east, which is currently torn by a bloody civil war.
The Lebanese army said it had established a security cordon around the blast sites. The bombs caused "great material damage" in addition to the casualties, the army said.
The first blast occurred near the Sunni al Taqwa mosque, NNA said.
The second occurred minutes later near al Salam mosque, another Sunni mosque that is close to the residence of acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as well as Samir Al-Jisr, a Sunni member of parliament and the former head of the country's Internal Security Forces, Ashraf Rifi.
Rifi is despised by Hezbollah and Lebanese politicians friendly to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
It was unclear if any of those figures were targets of the attack, but NNA said the mosques' two Salafist sheikhs were unharmed.
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