A huge car bomb has killed at least eight people and injured 78 in central Beirut, Lebanese officials say.
The explosion occurred in a busy street in the predominantly Christian district of Ashrafiya.
Witnesses say it was heard several kilometres away. It is the deadliest attack in Beirut since 2008.
No group has said it carried out the bombing. The intended target is unclear. Tensions in Lebanon have been rising over the conflict in Syria.
Friday's attack took place near Sassine Square, at a time when many parents were picking up children from school.
There were chaotic scenes as emergency vehicles rushed to the area.
Plea for blood donors
The blast caused considerable damage, setting cars ablaze and destroying the facades of nearby buildings.
Plea for blood donors
The blast caused considerable damage, setting cars ablaze and destroying the facades of nearby buildings.
Ronnie Chatah, who lives 500m from the site of the blast, told the BBC: "The building shook and it echoed throughout the neighbourhood."
The BBC's Wyre Davies in Beirut says that although the attack comes after a long period of relative calm in the city, many residents had feared something like this would happen and that Lebanon would be inevitably dragged into the conflict in Syria.
Some Lebanese political leaders have already accused the Syria government of being behind the bombing.
However Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it a "cowardly terrorist act".
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government was trying to identify the perpetrators and said they would be punished.
The attack occurred close to the headquarters of the Kataeb, better known as the Phalange, a Maronite Christian group.
The general secretariat of the Western-backed 14 March coalition of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is also based in the area.
An MP from the alliance, Michel Pharaon, told al-Jazeera TV: "I think Ashrafiya is a target, and 14 March is a target. This region is symbolic because it is in the heart of the capital and it is a Christian neighbourhood."
Nearby hospitals are calling for people to donate blood to help treat the wounded.
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