The two powerful explosions ripped through neighborhoods near mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday. At least 27 people died and 350 were wounded in the bombings, Lebanese Red Cross head George Kettanah said. State media reported that the toll could be much higher. The death toll of these explosions is high compared with the political assassinations that have occurred in the past eight years in Lebanon, but the bigger fear is that civilians could become targets anywhere in the country.

Twin bombings rock mosques in Tripoli, Lebanon   (Photo: Reuters)

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the deadly Friday bombings in northern Lebanon, suggesting that the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks are in cahoots with Israel. The U.S. Embassy in Beirut also condemned the violence and called for "calm & restraint." Hezbollah also condemned the attacks, saying in a statement that the explosions were part of a "criminal scheme aimed at sowing seeds of strife among the Lebanese." The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on Friday strongly condemned the explosion of two car bombs and extended his condolences to the families of those killed and to the Government of Lebanon, and his sympathies to all those injured.  He also called on all Lebanese "to exercise restraint, to remain united, and to support their State institutions, particularly the security forces, in maintaining calm and order in Tripoli and throughout the country, and in preventing the recurrence of such destructive actions.