Nine dead in new wave of Lebanon device blasts: ministry

Nine people were killed and over 300 wounded Wednesday when walkie-talkies exploded across Lebanon, the government said, a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, killing 12 and wounding up to 2,800.

The Iran-backed group blamed Israel for the first wave of blasts on Tuesday, vowing revenge and stoking fears of all-out war in the region.

"The new wave of walkie-talkie explosions... killed nine people and wounded more than 300," the health ministry said in a statement.

A source close to the Iran-backed group said walkie-talkies used by its members exploded in its Beirut stronghold during the funerals of Hezbollah members killed in Tuesday's blasts.

"A number of walkie-talkies exploded in Beirut's southern suburbs," the source said, with Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers confirming devices had exploded inside two cars in the area.

The explosions caused panic, according to an AFP photographer covering the funerals.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported "pagers" and "devices" had also exploded in Hezbollah strongholds in the east and south, with AFP correspondents hearing explosions in those regions.

A hospital source in the eastern city of Baalbek told AFP 25 people had been wounded after walkie-talkies exploded.

© Agence France-Presse