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BEIRUT, May 23 (Reuters) - An explosion at a Druze town east of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Wednesday wounded five people, security sources said.

"A bomb went off near a shopping centre. Luckily the area was largely empty," a security source said.

The blast in Aley, which lies near the Beirut-Damascus road, caused damage to nearby shops and buildings.

An official from the political bloc of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a staunch supporter of the Western-backed government, arrived to inspect the scene.

Two bombs over the past week in Beirut have killed one woman and wounded several people.

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