Hezbollah blast: Huge explosion hits south Lebanon

An arms depot belonging to Hezbollah has exploded in southern Lebanon, according to a security source.

Several people are reportedly injured after the blast.

The explosion on Tuesday rocked a village in the country’s south, an area which is a Hezbollah stronghold. 

The blast was caused by a “technical error”, according to the security source.

Another security source said Hezbollah, an armed and politically powerful Shi'ite Muslim group which is backed by Iran, had set up a security cordon around the blast site, which sits about 50km south of Beirut. 

The explosion - which took place in the village of Ain Qana - comes more than a month after a deadly blast struck Lebanon’s capital.

At least 190 people were killed and thousands injured after the explosion at Beirut’s port in early August.

Lebanon's official news agency, NNA, said the explosion in the southern village of Ain Qana, above the port city of Sidon, coincided with intense Israeli overflights "that did not leave the skies" over the area since Tuesday morning.

It said the cause of the explosion, which damaged buildings, shattered windows and sent black smoke billowing into the sky, was not known.

The Israeli military said it had no comment. 

An official with Hezbollah said there had been an explosion and there had been no casualties.

Security sources have said several people have been wounded. 

Footage from the area broadcast by Al-Jadeed showed men walking over scorched ground littered with debris. Damage was shown in an adjacent house where the floor was covered in glass and what appeared to be a pool of blood.

After Beirut’s explosion in August, Lebanon’s government resigned amid outcry and protests over the blast, which was triggered by thousands of tonnes of a highly explosive material stored at the capital’s port.

It is still not clear what caused the initial fire that ignited the chemicals, and so far no one has been held accountable.

Additional reporting by agenices