A huge blast hit the Lebanese capital Friday afternoon killing three people including Lebanese Chief of the Information Branch General Wissam Al-Hasan and his bodyguard and wounding 78 others

A huge blast hit the Lebanese capital Friday afternoon killing three people including Lebanese Chief of the Information Branch General Wissam Al-Hasan and his bodyguard and wounding 78 others, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

The blast was the result of the explosion of a car rigged with 30 kilograms of TNT in Sassine square, a popular residential neighborhood in Achrafieh, East Beirut.

The news about Al-Hasan’s martyrdom did not come out except hours after the blast, as Arab and Lebanese TV station announced it.

Hezbollah strongly condemned the crime that targeted Al-Hasan, considering that “this hideous crime is a vicious attempt to hit stability and national unity,” and called on “security and judicial apparatuses to make all efforts to control the crime, uncover its committers, and bring them to justice.”

For its part, Amal movement considered that the crime “clearly targets Lebanon, as people, nation, and institutions, in attempt to shake the citizen’s trust in his country and security institutions that were affected by the assassination of martyr Wissam Al-Hasan.

The movement added in a statement that “condemnation is not enough to express its resentment,” reassuring that “the real response is allowing and supporting security institutions to capture the criminals and punish them, and avoiding getting dragged in incitement schemes drawn by the enemies of Lebanon.”

Similarly, Head of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun condemned Al-Hasan’s assassination in a media statement, assuring that this is a tough period that Lebanon is passing through and that the crime targets Lebanon’s stability.
As he called all the Lebanese to think carefully and act wisely, Aoun indicated “that previous experiences have taught us to be aware before accusing anybody,” and considered that “the crime was organized and everyone should be aware of getting dragged to violence, which will harm all the Lebanese.”

Angry youths continued on Saturday their protests against al-Hasan’s assassination by blocking roads in various regions throughout the country.

In Tripoli, gunshots were heard at the Nahr Abu Ali roundabout as the Beddawi-al-Aabdeh road in the North was blocked, said Voice of Lebanon radio on Saturday.

In the South, the northern entrance to the city of Sidon was blocked with burning tires.

Roads were also blocked throughout the central Bekaa and Rashaya district in eastern Lebanon

Prime Minister Najib Miqati had announced on Friday that Saturday will be a national day of mourning over Hasan's death.