Twin suicide bombings at two mosques in Tripoli on August 23, 2013, killed 50 people and wounded around 800, a crime that shattered the northern city and whose perpetrators and masterminds remain unanswered questions.
Two explosions tore through the squares outside the Tawhid and Salam mosques as worshippers left Friday prayers, reducing streets to rubble and blood. Emergency services and security forces rushed to the scene to retrieve the wounded and search for victims.
The bombings were carried out using two car bombs, according to investigations that followed. Security and judicial authorities launched extensive inquiries to identify those responsible and determine which group stood behind the attack, gathering evidence from both sites, tracking vehicle movements and communications, and interviewing detainees.
The case moved from security investigation to the courts and eventually to the Military Court, where trials began in what became one of the most complex security files linked to Lebanon's period under the strain of the Syrian war.
Tripoli at that time existed under severe sectarian and security tension, and the greatest fear was that the bombing would ignite widespread conflict across the city and the north. Residents worked to contain the disaster, supporting the wounded and families of the dead while clearing rubble and reopening roads.
Thirteen years later, Tripoli's memory of that black day persists. Two mosques, two explosions, dozens dead and hundreds wounded, families still bearing the weight of August 23, 2013. The file remains open with fundamental questions unanswered: who planned the crime, who carried it out, who gave the order, and who sought to strike at worshippers in the heart of Tripoli.
