(CNN) — A powerful car bomb rocked southern Beirut on Tuesday, unleashing an inferno in the Bir El Abed neighborhood, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

At least 18 people were wounded, according to NNA.

Video from the scene aired on Al Manar TV showed multiple vehicles on fire, with black smoke billowing into the air.

Crews doused the flames with fire hoses as authorities kept the crowds back.

The explosion was powerful enough to damage surrounding buildings several stories up, blowing out windows and damaging balconies.

Syria’s conflict stirs up old rivalries in Lebanon

Tensions have been on the rise in Lebanon as thousands of refugees have poured into the country since the conflict in Syria began in March 2011.

Sectarian violence has been a growing concern as many Lebanese support the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while others do not.

And there is evidence rebel groups are receiving small arms smuggled across both the Lebanese and Turkish borders.

In April the Lebanese army announced it had intercepted a cargo ship bound for Tripoli — the northern epicenter of support for Syrian rebels in Lebanon — that was filled with weapons it believes were meant to be delivered to rebel forces in Syria.

CNN’s Mohammed Jamjoom says the big worry is that Syria’s troubles will reopen the wounds of Lebanon’s long civil war with theSunni community, which tends to back the rebels, pitted against Hezbollah, the powerful pro-Assad Shiite militia.