At least 27 people have been killed and more than 350 injured by two blasts in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, officials say.
As Friday prayers ended, a blast hit the al-Taqwa mosque, usually attended by prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Salem Rafii. His fate is not clear.
A second blast five minutes later hit the al-Salam mosque.
War in neighbouring Syria has raised sectarian tensions between the city’s Sunni Muslim and Alawite communities.
Sheikh Salem Rafii is one of the most prominent Sunni leaders in Lebanon, BBC Arabic reports from Beirut. He is opposed to Lebanon’s militant Shia Hezbollah group and has previously urged the country’s young men to join opposition fighters in Syria.
It was not clear whether he was at the mosque at the time of the attack. The BBC’s Yolande Knell in Beirut says it is not yet known what has happened to him.
Source: BBC
