BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- An explosion ripped through the car of a German diplomat in Beirut shortly before midnight Friday, causing material damage but no casualties, security sources said.
The unidentified sources said police started an official investigation Saturday into the incident that occurred outside a waterfront hotel while the car;s owner, Dietriech Bartiopak, a diplomat at the German embassy in Beirut, was inside the building.
It was not immediately determined what caused the explosion, but police played down the theory that an explosive charge might have been placed under the car.
Detectives are reportedly investigating the possibility that an electrical shortcut might have occurred that led to the explosion of the car's fuel tank.
