Suicide bomber rocks Beirut hotel during security raid

World Today

A suicide bomber blew himself up in his room at a Beirut hotel Wednesday as Lebanese security forces raided the premises, causing an explosion that sent flames and a dark cloud of black smoke billowing out of the third-floor windows, security officials said.

The blast toward the end of evening rush-hour took place inside the Duroy Hotel in Beirut’s Raouche district, a posh neighborhood of apartment towers and upscale hotels perched on cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Lebanese security forces, who detained a second suspected bomber in the sweep, sealed off the area around the hotel and armed gunmen fanned out on the street to secure the location.

The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks and security scares in Lebanon over the past week that have sparked fears of renewed violence in a country that has been deeply affected by the civil war in neighboring Syria.