A bomb exploded in an empty passenger bus parked in a Christian neighborhood east of Beirut Monday, wounding seven passers-by, a
senior security official reported.

The explosion occurred in the residential and industrial Bouchrieh suburb, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

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Lebanon has seen a string of bomb explosions in and around Beirut since
clashes between Fatah Islam militants and the Lebanese army began May 20.
Lebanon has also been hit by a series of explosions in the last two years, particularly targeting Christian areas.

Two explosions on May 21 and 22 killed a woman and injured a dozen people in two Beirut neighborhoods, as the Lebanese army battled militants holed up in a refugee camp near the northern port city of Tripoli.

On May 23, a bomb exploded in the Druse town of Aley in Beirut's central
mountains, wounding at least five people.

On March 26, 2005, a blast went off in an industrial zone in Bouchrieh,
injuring five people and setting factories ablaze.