Terrorists acts

The blast went off near the Hotel Promenade in Zalka, which is also near a Starbucks cafe. However, there were conflicting reports of where the bomb had been planted.

A Lebanese civil defense spokesperson told LBC that the bomb had been planted inside a building, while a Lebanese security source said it was detonated in a parking lot adjacent to the hotel.

The blast happened just before 11 p.m. (4 p.m. ET). Video from the LBC showed army troops cordoning off the area and ambulance crews responding to the scene.

The blast appeared to have caused extensive damage to the outside walls of a building.

Just last month a powerful explosion rocked a Christian area of Beirut. Hours after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a surprise visit, the second major blast in two weeks shook the Lebanese capital on July 22. No deaths were reported.

On July 12 Lebanon's outgoing deputy Prime Minister Elias Murr was among 12 people wounded by a blast that tore through a Christian neighborhood in northern Beirut. At least two people were killed.

During Rice's visit, she stopped at the grave of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the opposition leader assassinated on February 14, and laid a wreath.

She also met with his son, Sa'ad Hariri, a member of parliament and head of one of the largest blocs in the new government.