Post by HARD ROCK UNIVERSE on Sept 22, 2005 3:15:06 GMT -5
Associated Press
Sept. 19, 2005 08:10 AM
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A hand grenade kept as a souvenir from Lebanon's civil war exploded in a Kuwaiti government office as a worker played with it, killing the man and injuring two other people, the ambassador said.
The dead and injured were all Lebanese employees of the Kuwaiti Information Office.
Speaking outside the 15-story building where the explosion occurred, Ambassador Ali Suleiman Saeed said: "Regrettably, it happened when one of the employees, with the knowledge of his colleagues, was playing with some old explosive materials left over from the (1975-90 civil) war. It exploded, hitting him and two of his colleagues."
Ayas al-Alayli, 36, took the grenade from a shelf and threw it to the floor to show Mirna Mugharbel, a secretary, that it wouldn't explode, an employee in the office said.
Al-Alayli was killed and Mugharbel and another office worker, Hussam al-Jamal, were injured.
Mugharbel suffered shrapnel wounds to her legs, said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak to the press. Blood stained the floor as well as the desk and chairs in Mugharbel's office.
The explosion was the second in four days in Beirut, but it had nothing to do with the series of mysterious bombings that have occurred in the Lebanese capital since a massive bomb killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 20 other people on Feb. 14.
On Friday night, a bomb exploded in the Beirut neighborhood of Ashrafiya, killing one person and wounding 23 others.
The Kuwaiti ambassador stressed the explosion should not be seen as an attack on Kuwait and was unrelated to the string of bombings in Beirut.
Lebanese troops and police cordoned off the building after the explosion. The building, which also houses the official Kuwait News Agency, is near the Interior Ministry.
Sept. 19, 2005 08:10 AM
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A hand grenade kept as a souvenir from Lebanon's civil war exploded in a Kuwaiti government office as a worker played with it, killing the man and injuring two other people, the ambassador said.
The dead and injured were all Lebanese employees of the Kuwaiti Information Office.
Speaking outside the 15-story building where the explosion occurred, Ambassador Ali Suleiman Saeed said: "Regrettably, it happened when one of the employees, with the knowledge of his colleagues, was playing with some old explosive materials left over from the (1975-90 civil) war. It exploded, hitting him and two of his colleagues."
Ayas al-Alayli, 36, took the grenade from a shelf and threw it to the floor to show Mirna Mugharbel, a secretary, that it wouldn't explode, an employee in the office said.
Al-Alayli was killed and Mugharbel and another office worker, Hussam al-Jamal, were injured.
Mugharbel suffered shrapnel wounds to her legs, said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak to the press. Blood stained the floor as well as the desk and chairs in Mugharbel's office.
The explosion was the second in four days in Beirut, but it had nothing to do with the series of mysterious bombings that have occurred in the Lebanese capital since a massive bomb killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 20 other people on Feb. 14.
On Friday night, a bomb exploded in the Beirut neighborhood of Ashrafiya, killing one person and wounding 23 others.
The Kuwaiti ambassador stressed the explosion should not be seen as an attack on Kuwait and was unrelated to the string of bombings in Beirut.
Lebanese troops and police cordoned off the building after the explosion. The building, which also houses the official Kuwait News Agency, is near the Interior Ministry.
