At least 10 people were injured on Sunday night in a massive explosion at a warehouse near the Lebanon-Syria border, Arab media reports, citing the Lebanese Red Cross and the army said.
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The Red Cross told French news agency AFP that it sent several rescue teams to the village of al-Qasr in the eastern Hermel region of Lebanon, where the explosion took place.
"We have responded to an explosion in a warehouse that stores gas canisters. We have responded with three teams. Ten people have been wounded and transported to nearby hospitals," a Red Cross media statement said.
A Lebanese army spokesman told AFP that the blast was caused by the explosion of gas canisters stored in a warehouse. He stressed that the blast occurred away from the local army checkpoint and that no Lebanese security personnel were hurt.
The Hermel region is known as riddled with illegal border crossings into Syria, which are used by smugglers.
Several reports alleged Sunday that the owner of the warehouse has known ties with Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terrorist group which is also Iran's chief proxy in the region.
Hezbollah is often accused by Lebanese media and some political parties of running smuggling operations into Syria to the detriment of Lebanon which is grappling with its worst economic crisis since the 1975 civil war.
In its statement, the Lebanese army said the warehouse was owned by a Lebanese family, but did not say whether it was used for smuggling fuel.
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