Two killed during attack on Beirut funeral

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 10 (UPI) -- An attack on a funeral procession Saturday in Beirut has left at least two people dead in a Sunni area of the Lebanese capital, the BBC said.

The British broadcaster said gunfire directed at the funeral procession for a Sunni civilian killed two people and brought the current death toll from the recent spate of violence in Beirut to 24.

The violence that filled Beirut's streets during the past four days marked the worst internal violence in Lebanon since the country was embroiled in its 15-year civil war which ended in 1990, the reports said.

Government officials have accused Hezbollah militants of attempting to extend the influence of Iran through the bout of renewed violence.

"The armed and bloody coup which is being implemented aims to return Syria to Lebanon and extend Iran's reach to the Mediterranean," the government said Friday. "Violence will not terrorize us, but it will increase our resolve."