(AKI) - Six home-made bombs exploded in a mixed Sunni-Shia district of West Beirut early on Monday causing damage to buildings but no casualties, media reports said, quoting local security officials. The explosions came amid heightened tension and security concerns ahead of national reconciliation talks between rival political leaders on Tuesday, following the killing of pro-Syrian politician Sheikh Saleh Aridi in a car bomb last Wednesday.The first explosive device went off on Monday 2.30 am local time in the Corniche al-Mazraa neighbourhood, damaging cars and shops, the Voice of Lebanon radio station reported. A second bomb exploded ten minutes later and a third one exploded close to the Abdul Nasser mosque. Three other devices went off in the following hours, with the sixth bomb reportedly exploding at 5.30 am local time. The Lebanese army defused two similar bombs near a church in the village of Lass, north of Beirut, a security official was quoted as saying.
Security forces have stepped up patrols in West Beirut. Armed militants from Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah in May took over large areas of the predominantly Sunni area in the worst fighting seen since the 1975-1990 civil war. Fierce clashes between pro-government Sunni and Hezbollah-led Shia opposition supporters left dozens dead.
Hezbollah guerrillas insist they have the right to resist Israel. The Western-backed ruling bloc in parliament maintains the state should have sole authority to bear arms. Tuesday's talks by Lebanon's national unity cabinet are expected to focus on the the country's defence strategy and Hezbollah's weaponry.