All eyes are on Paris as President Francois Hollande declared a national state of emergency following the devastating attacks on Friday night at a soccer stadium, nearby establishments, and at the Bataclan concert hall. Officially, the motivations behind the suicide bombers have not yet been identified nor revealed, however, some early speculative reports are already linking the deadly attacks that took the lives of at least 120 people to ISIS.
Just a few hours before the attacks in Paris, a south Beirut area, Burj al-Barajneh, also suffered from attacks of suicide bombers and as many as 43 people perished in those blasts which also occurred amidst as busy marketplace, cafes and family establishments.
The area was known to be predominantly Shia Muslim and some reports have even gone as far to say that it was a "Hezbollah stronghold" though locals insist that Hezbollah only supports some families in the area living in poverty.
According to Lebanese Minister of Education, Elias Bou Saab, one of the suicide bombers who were riding motorcycles detonated just outside the gates of a school.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the blasts in the city that was once regarded as "The Paris of the Middle East." Both the U.S. and Iran have condemned the attack on Burj al-Barajneh. Even a Hezbollah official, Bilal Farhat, said "It was a Satanic terrorist attack."
As the country observed a day of mourning a day after the attacks in Beirut, Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam held an emergency meeting with his ministers and military chiefs.
The explosions on Thursday evening were said to be the biggest in Beirut since the country's civil war in 1990. Reports also show that the southern Beirut area was also the target of other suicide bombers in 2014 linked to al-Qaeda affiliates.
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