Hamas Official Reportedly Wounded in Car Bomb Blast in Lebanon (PHOTOS)

A BMW reportedly exploded in a parking lot in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.

Mohammed Hamdan, a senior official in the Palestinian movement Hamas was reportedly wounded in car bomb explosion Sunday.

According to AFP, citing medical sources, a BMW exploded when Hamdan opened the door. The official sustained injuries to his legs. 

The Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported, citing  the military that Hamdan had been rushed to the hospital and was in surgery.

The internet users share the first images from the scene that depict black smoke rising over the burning car. Lebanon's National News Agency has reported that the area has been cordoned off.

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Report: Car bomb explosion in southern Lebanese city of Sidon targets Hamas official pic.twitter.com/qth7Y2FpcU

— Press TV (@PressTV) 14 января 2018 г.

#BREAKING Senior Hamas leader killed in the explosion in southern Lebanese city of Sidon: media pic.twitter.com/otffqU7lJZ

— Guy Elster (@guyelster) 14 января 2018 г.

— Alex Rowell (@alexjrowell) 14 января 2018 г.

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) 14 января 2018 г.

Mohammed Hamdan is the brother of Osama Hamdan, a representative of Hamas in Lebanon and a member of the movement's political bureau. Founded in 1987, Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni movement that aims to liberate the territory of Palestine from Israelis. The group is considered to be a terrorist organization by a number of states. Hamas established formal control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 following an election in which locals picked the religious group over secular Palestinian leaders.

The city of Sidon, where the blast occurred, is home to the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.