Explosion: https://archive.is/indn0
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/arlington-home-explodes-arlington-virginia-neighborhood
Amazing. Seems like this should be all over the news.
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So, the explosion might have only come from one side of that building (depending on the layout). And it looked like a brick exterior (edit, maybe just the color). What is the likelihood of a bomb here?
Low to zero. This was deflagration, not detonation.
Here is another gas explosion for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWAui49J1mM
I'm really surprised by the power of the blast. Could it be explained by something like a gas being more concentrated?
I'm guessing you've probably never seen a grain elevator explode in person. I have (although it was a looooooong time ago).
Anyway, the difference between a fuel air explosion (deflagration) and a detonation is that a detonation produces an omnidirectional overpressure wave. A confined gas explosion in a house won't. It is creating pressure; it will push on the walls and ceiling but as soon as the pressure finds an outlet (usually by ripping the roof off the walls) the acceleration stops. In this way the house is behaving more like the cylinder of an engine and the roof is acting like a piston.
This is why a bomb in a house tends to leave a crater (or at least, a cleared area surrounded by debris) where a fuel explosion tends to leave a big pile that's fallen in on itself. A very, very small bomb might produce the same effects, but it won't flare up as soon as it gets more oxygen.
This happens in reverse during hurricanes, and it is the typical reason for failure because contractors use as few connectors as possible to hold the roof to the wall.