An explosion has taken place in a Hezbollah-dominated southern suburb of Beirut, reports from Lebanon say.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV showed flames and smoke pouring out of the front of a multi-story building. Two people were reported killed and 20 injured.

The blast in the Hezbollah stronghold is the latest in a series of attacks said to be linked to Hezbollah’s role in the Syrian civil war, where the Shiite organization’s forces have been fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Lebanese Sunni Muslims tend to back the Syrian opposition.

Al-Manar said the blast occurred in Arid Street in Harat Hreik district. Large crowds gathered at the scene, as is common in such events.

It is the latest of several recent explosions in Lebanon. Five people were killed and many others injured by a bomb blast on January 2 in the same Beirut district. Former minister Mohamad Chatah, a Sunni and a critic of Hezbollah, was killed with five others by a car bomb on December 27.