South Beirut Blast Further Divides Lebanon Neighborhoods (VIDEO)

Five people were killed and more than 50 were wounded after an SUV filled with explosives erupted in a south Beirut neighborhood known for their backing of Shiite groups and the Islamist militant group Hezbollah, further diving Shiite and Sunni neighborhoods in Lebanon, the Associated Press reported.

The National News Agency in Lebanon said the explosion caused damage to cars and other buildings along the street, reporting most store front windows on the street had been blown-out, according to the AP. Most of the injured were taken to Bahman Hospital and many were said to be in critical condition.

The blast occurred on a commercial street in a pro-Shiite neighborhood where a dark green SUV filled with 20 kilograms of explosives was detonated, the AP reported. Authorities are still investigating whether it was a suicide attack.

According to Lebanese Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV, the blast happened "a few hundred meters (yards) from the politburo of Hezbollah," or the Hezbollah's political office, but authorities state the office was not the target of the attack, according to the AP.

Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah's deputy chief, told Al-Manar the target of the blast was "the whole of Lebanon," according to the AP.

Thursday's blast was the most recent in the past months as the civil war in Syria begins to take a toll on Lebanon neighborhoods, the AP reported. Both Shiite and Sunni neighborhoods have been under attack by opposing forces creating a greater sectarian divide as the Shiite and Sunni Lebanese choose sides.

With the Lebanon government taking no immediate action, the fear is that Lebanon will continue to get caught in Syria's civil war, the AP reported.

Sunni rebels in Syria and militant Islamist groups began their fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and stated they would target main Hezbollah areas in Lebanon as vengeance for Lebanon's involvement on favoring Assad in the conflict, according to the AP.

Iran is a main backer of Hezbollah, who until now thought the south neighborhoods in Beirut, which are considered strongholds for the group and where the recent attacks occurred, were untouchable to enemies, the AP reported.

Since the Lebanese government resigned in March and a replacement has not been agreed upon, Hezbollah believes a national unity cabinet should be put into place but Western opposition states the group needs to removes its troops from Syria before any agreement can be carried out, the AP reported.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced in a statement Thursday's bombing "proves that the hand of terrorism does not differentiate between the Lebanese," touching on last weeks blast which killed Lebanese diplomat Mohamad Bahaa Chatah, according to the AP.

"The fire burning in more than one region of Lebanon portends what is worse if we do not meet and deal with our problems away from the language of defiance and exclusion," Mikati added, according to the AP.