BEIRUT
Lebanese authorities suggested on Sunday that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group was behind two suicide attacks that hit the northern city of Tripoli a day before, as Washington reaffirmed support for Lebanon.
"Preliminary information show that ISIL has been behind the two attacks," Lebanese Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said following a security meeting in Tripoli.
"The crisis will continue to exist here as long as the conflict continues to rage in Syria," he told the media.
Eleven people were killed Saturday when two suicide bombers attacked a café in the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood of Tripoli.
Minister Machnouk said the bombers might be connected to a suicide bomber who blew himself up at a Beirut hotel last year.
The Beirut attack, which took place on June 25 of 2014, left seven civilians and four policemen injured.
Al-Nusra Front, one of several militant movements fighting against the regime in neighboring Syria, had already claimed responsibility for the Tripoli bombings.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department strongly condemned the Jabal Mohsen suicide bombings.
"The United States will continue its strong support for the Lebanese security forces as they protect the Lebanese people, combat violent extremists, and preserve Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty, and security," deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.
Tight security was imposed in Jebel Mohsen Sunday with the arrival of the bodies of the victims.
The area has been the site of sporadic armed clashes between its residents and the inhabitants of the predominantly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, which is located in close proximity.
Lebanon has in recent months run into the Syrian quagmire when Al-Nusra and the ISIL engaged in deadly clashes with the Lebanese army in the eastern town of Arsal and captured several troops.
The two militant groups have repeatedly criticized Lebanon's Hezbollah over the Shiite group's ongoing military support for Bashar al-Assad's Alawite-dominated regime.
Additional reporting by Michael Hernandez in Washington
