Blast in Beirut kills 5

BEIRUT: An explosion tore through a crowded commercial street Thursday in a south Beirut neighborhood that is bastion of support for Hezbollah, killing at least five people, setting cars ablaze and sending a column of black smoke above the Beirut skyline.

The Lebanese army said 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of explosives were placed in a dark green SUV. It said authorities were investigating how the explosives were set off.

A security official said that human remains were found in and around the vehicle, and that authorities were investigating whether the blast could be a suicide bombing.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said a DNA test will be conducted to try identify the person who was in the car.

Lebanon´s official National News Agency said at least five people were killed and more than 50 wounded in the explosion, which left the mangled wreckage of cars in the street and blew out the windows of store fronts.

The director of the Bahman Hospital, where dozens of the wounded were taken, said some of the injured were in critical condition. (AP)