A wave of deadly walkie-talkie explosions sweeps Lebanon day after widespread pager attack
A second wave of device explosions hit Lebanon on Wednesday, killing 14, injuring 450 others and igniting blazes across the country a day after hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members detonated in an unprecedented attack on the militant group.
Lebanon’s Red Cross said it deployed 30 ambulances across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in response to the walkie-talkie explosions.
Meanwhile, the country’s civil defense force said teams worked to put out fires “inside homes, cars and shops” that were ignited by the blasts.
The Lebanese Ministry of Communications identified the exploding devices as Icom V82s, a type of handheld transceiver, adding that they were not purchased through the official distributor and were not licensed by the ministry. Icom did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Associated Press reported that its journalists were in Beirut at a funeral for four people killed by exploding pagers Tuesday when they heard “multiple explosions at the site.”
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