Blasts from intercepted Iranian missile rattle Keserwan, causing panic
Explosions rocked several areas north of Beirut that have so far been spared in the ongoing Israeli war, according to residents and local media, with a military official saying the blasts likely came from an intercepted Iranian missile.
Footage broadcast by the local LBCI channel in the coastal town of Sahel Alma showed a building with shattered windows and shrapnel piercing one of its walls, and a crack in a small wall beside it.
A Lebanese military official told AFP they suspected the culprit was "likely interceptor missiles" targeting "an Iranian cluster missile, and the projectiles have spread to several areas".
He did not specify the missile's target or who intercepted it, but neighboring Israel routinely shoots down incoming fire from Iran.
Media reports said the Iranian missile was likely targeting either the Hamat Air Base or the U.S. embassy in Awkar, while a senior U.S. official told Israel's Channel 12 that the Iranian missile was directed at another country, most likely Cyprus, but disintegrated in the air over Lebanon.
Videos on social media showed smoke rising from several locations.
Local media and residents reported explosions causing panic and confusion, as these regions have thus far remained untouched by the ongoing war.
Israeli strikes have mostly struck Lebanon's south and east, as well as areas in and around Beirut.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency also attributed the explosions to "interceptor missiles", reporting that one of them fell in the mountainous town of Faitroun.
"A number of citizens sustained minor injuries from flying shrapnel," it added.
Explosions were also heard in Baskanta, Kfar Debian and Qlayaat.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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