Suicide bombers kill nine in Lebanon’s Tripoli

Tripoli: Two suicide bombers killed nine people and wounded 37 others in an attack on a cafe in a flashpoint Alawite neighbourhood of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli Saturday, officials said.

Al-Qaeda´s Syria branch claimed responsibility for the attack in the Jabal Mohsen neighbourhood.

"Nine people were killed and 37 others wounded," the health ministry said in a statement.

A security source told AFP: "The first suicide bomber entered into the Ashqar cafe at around 7:30 pm (1730 GMT) and blew himself up."

Panicked survivors tried to flee the scene of the attack, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Then, a second suicide attacker arrived, and blew himself up too," he said, updating his initial account of a single suicide bomber.

A man who was lightly wounded said he was near the scene of the blast when the attackers struck.

"I was at the cafe with other people, when we suddenly heard a first blast," Zuheir al-Sheikh said.

"Then we heard a huge blast, though I have no idea what caused it," he added.

Al-Qaeda´s branch in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front, claimed responsibility for the blasts via Twitter.

The Arab Democratic Party is the main group representing the Alawite minority in Lebanon. (AFP)