BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Twin car bombs have exploded outside mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. At least 42 people are dead, and more than 400 wounded. The country’s second largest city has suffered major destruction.

The apparently coordinated blasts struck as locals were finishing Friday prayers in the largely Sunni Muslim city. They are the biggest and deadliest in Tripoli since the end of Lebanon’s own civil war. The first explosion hit the Taqwa mosque, frequented by hardline Sunni Islamists, killing over a dozen of people.

The second blast came a few minutes later outside the al-Salam mosque. The authorities say it was hit by a car laden with 100 kilograms of explosives. The Shiite group Hezbollah condemned the blasts and expressed solidarity with the victims. Hezbollah’s political opponents called on the group to withdraw its forces from Syria in response to the attack. Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn warned against being dragged into deeper sectarian bloodshed.

(Source: CNTV.cn)