Suicide Bomb Attack at Cafe in Lebanon Kills 7

Lebanese Army soldiers man an area beside a cafe where a suicide bomb attack took place in Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli, Jan. 10, 2015.

Lebanese officials say a suicide bomb attack on a cafe in the northern city of Tripoli has left at least seven people dead and 30 others wounded.

Witnesses said a bomber on Saturday set off his explosives inside the cafe, located in the predominantly Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen. There were also reports that a second suicide bomber had detonated explosives outside as people gathered at the scene in Lebanon's second-largest city.

Tripoli map

The al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility via Twitter. Security officials were investigating the attack.

The cafe was on a street dividing Jabal Mohsen from the Sunni district of Bab-al Tabbaneh.

For decades, the neighborhoods have been the center of clashes, which have been further fueled by the war in Syria and the actions of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite.

A major flare-up of violence in Tripoli occurred in October.

Politicians across Lebanon's deeply divided political field have consistently condemned the violence in Tripoli, a historic base for Sunni Islamist groups.