At least 12 killed as explosions hit Lebanon's Tripoli

Residents gather at the site of an explosion near the Taqwa Mosque in Tripoli At least 12 people have been killed and 25 others wounded by twin explosions outside two Sunni mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, Lebanon’s official National News Agency said.

The first blast rocked the city centre near the home of outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, although his office said he was not in Tripoli at the time.
According to Al Jazeera news channel, the bomb went off outside al-Salam mosque in the Mina area of central Tripoli, as worshippers were leaving after Friday afternoon prayers.
The second explosion occurred outside the al-Taqwa Mosque in the city's Abu Ali Square, near the port of the restive city, said the National News Agency.
Tripoli has a Sunni Muslim majority and has been marred by deadly violence linked to the 29-month conflict in neighbouring Syria.

Sources told Arab Today that the prayer leaders at both mosques adhere to the hardline Salafist interpretation of Islam
However Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Arab Today that the explosions did not target any specific political or religious figure in Tripoli.
He also denied reports that the explosions targeted General Ashraf Refi, former Director General of the Internal Security Forces, confirming that General Refi and his family are safe, however their home, which is close to the site of one  of the explosions, had been damaged.
Syria's civil war has sharply polarized the country along sectarian lines and between supporters and opponents of the regime of President Bashar Assad. Tripoli has previously seen clashes between Sunnis and Alawites, a Shiite offshoot sect to which Assad belongs.