© AFP/Getty ImagesThe aftermath of the car bomb explosion in the Hezbollah stronghold of Haret Hreik in southern Beirut.
A powerful car bomb exploded near a Hezbollah security zone in southern Beirut on Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens more in the fifth such attack on the militant group's heartland since July.
The blast came a week after
another bomb killed a senior opposition figure and seven other civilians in the downtown area of the Lebanese capital. The explosions have marked a deterioration in security across the country widely believed to stem from the war in neighbouring Syria, which has kindled long-standing regional rivalries.
Thursday's attack hit the Haret Hreik district of the suburb of Dahiyeh, which has long been an operations hub for Hezbollah. The organisation said none of its people or sites had been affected.
The increasing frequency of the attacks has, however, instilled widespread fear among the group's supporters and those who live in areas protected by Hezbollah and other Shia militias. Four of the attacks have been in civilian neighbourhoods.
A blast in July that wounded at least 50 people was followed on 15 August by an attack that killed at least 20. In November, twin suicide bombers targeted the Iranian embassy, killing another 23 people, including an Iranian diplomat.
Last month, a senior Hezbollah figure,
Hassan Laqqis, who directed logistics for the organisation, was assassinated by gunmen using silenced weapons outside his Beirut apartment.
In Tripoli, at the other end of the country, two explosions in August outside Sunni mosques killed more than 40 people.
Comment: Have you noticed there's always enough money for drones?