Explosion near Beirut kills three, injures five

March 23, 2005 Three people are dead and five are injured after an explosion tore through a shopping center near the port of Jounie, 20 kilometres north of Beirut, Lebanon. The 45-pound bomb, which was placed under a stairwell, exploded around 1:30am local time (0330 UTC).

Police say they believe the bomb was placed there just before the center closed.

The blast caused serious damage to the shopping center, breaking windows, causing false ceilings to collapse, and pillars to warp within a radius of several hundred meters.