Blast rocks Hezbollah stronghold

AIN QANA, Lebanon – A powerful explosion shook a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, sending thick gray smoke billowing over the village, but the cause was not clear.

The Lebanese army said that the blast occurred in a building in the southern village of Ain Qana, above the port city of Sidon, and that it was investigating. Lebanon’s official news agency, NNA, said the explosion coincided with intense Israeli overflights “that did not leave the skies” over the area since Tuesday morning.

It said the cause of the explosion, which damaged buildings, shattered windows and caused panic among residents, was not known.

The mysterious blast added to collective anxiety in a country still reeling from last month’s massive explosion in Beirut and struggling with an unprecedented economic crisis.

“Thank God that there were no human losses, but there was a lot of panic; everyone was frightened,” said a villager who identified himself by his last name, Honeina.

The Israeli military declined to comment. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006. Since then, the Iran-backed militant group is believed to have expanded its arsenal, amassing tens of thousands of rockets and missiles that can hit virtually anywhere in Israel.

The mysterious blast comes seven weeks after the giant explosion at Beirut’s port, caused by the detonation of nearly 3,000 tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate. That explosion killed nearly 200 people.