Teen in Beirut bombing 'selfie' dies

A LEBANESE teenager seen posing for a group \"selfie\" in front of a bomb-laden car moments before it exploded in the capital Beirut has died of his injuries.

\"The number of victims from the attack rose to seven after the death of young Mohammad al-Chaar this moing, succumbing to his injuries at the American Hospital in Beirut,\" said Lebanon's official NNA news agency.

Following Friday's bombing in the heart of Beirut, AFP photographers saw the 16-year-old lying on the pavement, his head bloodied, before he was taken to hospital with severe injuries.

Chaar had been identified online as one of four youths seen posing in a group selfie posted on social media networks in front of the car that exploded moments later.

Lebanese security forces and firefighters gather next to destroyed vehicles at the scene of the explosion in central Beirut. Picture: AP Photo/Hussein Malla Source: AP

The picture went viral on the inteet, and the confirmation of his death sparked an outpouring of tributes on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.

Among the six other people killed in the attack was Mohammad Chatah, an influential economist, former finance minister and ex-envoy to Washington who was also a close aide to ex-prime minister Saad Hariri.

Dozens of people were also wounded in the bombing, which officials said was caused by 110-132 pounds of explosives.

Chatah is to be buried at the mausoleum of Hariri's father on Sunday, which President Michel Sleiman has declared a national day of mouing.

Rafiq Hariri, the then prime minister, was killed in a suicide bombing on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005.