A loud explosion turned several buildings in a Beirut industrial area into raging infernos today and a military officer said at least three people were wounded. Arab TV stations cited security officials saying a bomb caused the blast.

An explosion devastated a business centre in Lebanon’s Christian heartland early today, a stronghold of the anti-Syrian opposition, killing two people and wounding two more.

A car bomb wrecked the front of a building in northern Beirut early today, wounding seven people, police said.