Possibility of US sabotage in ‌Beirut explosion

Some radar images of unusual patrols and reconnaissance operations of four US Navy spy planes on the Lebanon-Syria coastline were released after the powerful explosion in the port of Beirut.

In this regard, some security experts said that there is possibility of US sabotage, adding that US forces may have planned a sabotage operation in recent days. 

Security analysts believe this is unprecedented.

The importance of this point and the release of these radar images is that the American intelligence sources were aware of the existence of 50 tons of nitrate that had been stored in this port for about nine years.

A massive explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon, with the force of an earthquake followed by a shock wave that devastated much of the city.

The blast appeared to have followed a fire that had broken out in the city's port area, based on a video from the scene. The cause of the blast was immediately unknown. The force of the blast shook buildings, which were then hit again by the shock wave that blew out windows, sending shards of glass flying.

Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan said that more than 50 people have been killed and 2,700 are wounded in a massive explosion at the port in Lebanon's capital, Beirut.

Beirut's governor Marwan Abboud called it a "national catastrophe" and the prime minister declared a day of mourning.

ZZ/