Nine people were slightly wounded and extensive damage caused when a car bomb exploded in a northern Beirut suburb, police said. "The Japanese-made Datsun car belonged to an Armenian living in the building in front of which the explosion took place. The explosive was placed under his vehicle," a police spokesman told AFP.

"An inquiry has been opened by the police which went immediately to the scene," he added.

The explosion had caused extensive damage in the residential neighbourhood of Jdeide, along a coastal road. Several buildings were damaged and cars parked in the street where the explosion took place were destroyed.

Police had sealed off the neighbourhood. The blast, which could be heard in central Beirut, brought many people out into the street who had been woken from their sleep.

The explosion happened shortly after midnight (2230 GMT Friday), just over a month after the assassination of former premier Rafic Al-Hariri. Witnesses said the car attempted to stop in front of a bingo hall, but security guards asked its driver to move along. The driver then parked the car a short way down the road. Minutes later it exploded.

© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)