July 2013 Beirut bombing
On 9 July, the southern suburb of Beirut, Bir el-Abed was hit by a car bomb that injured at least 53 people. Bir el-Abed is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. The bombing was initially blamed on "Israel and its agents,” by both Hezbollah and Saad Hariri,, though other observers suspected this was to keep the Sunni-Shia peace at a time of Sunni anger with Hezbollah for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The bombing was later claimed by a brigade of the Free Syrian Army while a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army denied any implication in the bombing. A month later on 15 August 2013, another car bomb exploded in the same district, this time killing twenty seven people and injuring over 200.
