The second explosion that echoed on Thursday afternoon in the Al-Zafir area of southern Beirut does not appear to be just an incidental gas bottle explosion. The building, which saw its first floor ripped apart, seems to signal a hidden agenda within the Lebanese Army intelligence, as new revelations about the explosion emerge, linking it to a previous explosion in the apartment of the detainee (M.G.), who was injured while preparing a bomb—reportedly learning how to do so through YouTube. Subsequently, the Lebanese Army interrogated the detainee after he recovered from his injuries, leading to the arrest of (M.B.) in Aramoun, while the mother of the suspect was released following a thorough search by the army's intelligence services, noting that the apartment was sealed with red wax.
At that time, the army announced: "M.G. was found to be linked to the detained citizen (M.B.) who was arrested in the Aramoun area and admitted to purchasing raw materials for making explosives for the detained (M.G.). The investigations revealed that he was planning to carry out criminal acts in various locations commissioned by external operators." As news circulated on social media on Thursday about a loud noise in the southern suburbs, it was reported that a woman was killed while cleaning the apartment. Later, a video surfaced of an armed individual being arrested while hiding inside the apartment, and it was confirmed that the deceased woman was the aunt of the detainee, while the army apprehended an injured young man and his mother, who will undergo investigation.
Regarding the case of the detained suspect, news outlet "Al-Akhbar" published details on April 12, 2023, regarding the investigations into the suspect, who had been discharged from the army years prior. Army intelligence had questioned his mother, who stated that her son learned to manufacture explosives online and prevented her from entering his room, sometimes resorting to violence against her. Initial investigations revealed that the detainee's mental state was unstable, as he talked about "sacrifices" and other "illogical" matters. The investigations indicated that the suspect was "odd". Upon extended questioning of the detainees, he claimed he was planning to target five areas.
In previous raids in Aramoun, it was reported that a woman was under arrest and undergoing investigation, while the day's explosion resulted in the death of a woman named Dua Farhat (the aunt of the detained suspect), who was said to be cleaning the house. There was a state of panic among the residents of the building that was shaken by the explosion, and searches were underway for additional explosive devices that may be present in the apartment of the "YouTube bomb maker".
After the second explosion, there were confirmations that the Lebanese Army conducted a thorough search of the apartment after arresting the suspect, raising questions about the source of the device that exploded today. Information indicated that an injured person and a woman will be investigated by army intelligence regarding the circumstances of the incident, knowing that the woman was present in the apartment at the time of the explosion and was uninjured while the aunt was present and killed, and a young man who was in the apartment was injured.
In the yellow security square, the explosion that occurred today in the heart of the yellow security square was commented on by the electronic site "Al-Manar": "Questions regarding the circumstances will be clarified in the coming days after investigations." Will there be surprises in connection with the events of today alongside information circulated in recent weeks about sabotage networks being pursued by the army, or is the story from the beginning nothing more than the narrative of "a psychologically unbalanced young man"? Perhaps the first scenario is more likely in light of the question: who reintegrated the explosives back into the home that had undergone a thorough search by the army?
