The explosion took place at the entrance of a business center in Mar Taqla area of Sad Boushriyeh district. It also caused damages to nearby cars and at least 10 shops.

Ambulances and fire engines rushed to the area, and the Lebanese security authorities set up checkpoints and cordoned off the chaotic scene. The injured, with a white band on the head, were seen leaving the scene with the help of rescuers.

It was the fourth bomb attack since May 20, when a fierce conflict erupted between the Lebanese Army and the Fatah al-Islam group based at the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon.

On May 21, a bomb planted under a car blasted near the upscale ABC shopping mall in the prosperous Christian neighborhood of Achrafye in central Beirut, killing one woman and wounding a dozen others.

One day later, a car bomb rocked Beirut's Sunni neighborhood of Verdun, injuring about six persons and causing fire in a nearby building.

On May 23, another bomb hit the Druze resort town of Aley, about 20 km east of Beirut, wounding about five persons.

According to local Naharnet website, the blast was similar to the one that targeted two commuting busses in the mainly Christian town of Ein Alaq, 48 km northeast of Beirut on February 13, which killed and wounded at least 20 people.

The Ein Alaq twin bombings were blamed by the Lebanese government on the Fatah al-Islam group.