BEIRUT: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Beirut hotel Wednesday evening during a security raid, wounding 11 people, a security source told The Daily Star, in the third explosion in less than a week.
The source said the bomber was a Saudi national and blew himself up in his room on the third floor of the Duroy Hotel in the bustling district of Raouche, a few meters away from the Saudi Embassy.
Security forces arrested a suspect at the hotel who the source said was a potential suicide bomber.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said the potential bomber was a Saudi national and was currently being treated at a Beirut hospital.
“This was a pre-emptive strike by General Security because the suicide bombers were supposed to carry out an attack in another location,” Machnouk told reporters at the site of the explosion.