Beirut blast was likely an 'attack': Trump

Washington: President Donald Trump said US military generals have told him that they seem to feel the massive explosion that rocked Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 70 people, was a terrible attack likely caused by a bomb.

Trump was asked why he called it an attack and not an accident. To this, he replied, “It would seem like it based on the explosion.”

I met with some of our great generals and they just seem to feel that it was. This was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event. ... They seem to think it was attack. It was a bomb of some kind.

Trump offered condolences to the victims and said the United States stood ready to assist Lebanon. It looks like a terrible attack, he said.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known, but initial reports suggested a fire had detonated a warehouse at the port.