A large explosion shook the eastern outskirts of Beirut on Friday night, the Qatar-based al- Jazeera TV channel reported.

Witnesses were quoted as saying that army troops were seen in parts of the capital responding to the blast which was heard just before midnight.

There is no immediate information about the cause of the blast and its casualty.

The Lebanese capital, especially the mainly Christian areas east of Beirut, have witnessed a string of night time explosions since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al- Hariri who was slain in a car bomb on a Beirut street on Feb. 14.

Source: Xinhua