A massive car bomb went off late Friday afternoon in Beirut – the first of its kind in four years. Rubble and the twisted, burning wreckage of several cars filled the central Beirut street where the bomb exploded. The blast literally ripped the facades and balconies off buildings. Eight people were killed, and a further 78 injured.

The attack is seen as yet another sign that Syria’s civil war is dragging its neighbour into the conflict. One of those who died is a prominent Lebanese intelligence official who was opposed to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

At the time of his death, Wissam al-Hassan was leading an investigation that implicated Syria and Hezbollah in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. At Al-Hassan’s funeral over the weekend, Lebanese soldiers fired bullets into the air and launched tear-gas at mourners.

Below, a gallery can be seen of the immediate aftermath of Friday’s attack. Be warned that not all the images might be for sensitive viewers.

[Source: BuzzFeed]