Iranian embassy in Beirut targeted by twin blasts

The Iranian embassy in Beirut has been hit by two huge blasts, one from a suicide bomber and another from a car bomb, in an apparent sign of the Syrian civil war spilling over into Lebanon.
An initial claim of responsibility came from a Twitter feed associated with the Abdullah Azzam Brigade, an al-Qaeda-linked group in Lebanon. It said it was "a double martyrdom operation for the heroes of the Sunnis in Lebanon. God bless them," suggesting the car bomb was also detonated by a suicide attacker.

Lebanese military trucks blocked the roads to the embassy as the emergency services were thrown into action. Fire engines sought to clear the roads, and ambulances loaded the dead and the wounded.

Residents began to sweep away the broken glass, intermingled with blood and body parts that lay on the ground.

The bombing, if it is linked to Syria, may also have been a response to recent regime successes. In the last fortnight its forces have recaptured two key bases near Aleppo, killed one of the best-known rebel leaders, and made advances into rebel-held territory between Damascus and the Lebanese border.

Iran's foreign ministry immediately blamed "this inhumane crime and spiteful on Zionists and their mercenaries", a stock response which does not in any case exclude a relationship to Syria since Mr Assad and his allies regularly say the Sunni opposition is supported by Israel to weaken what they call "the resistance axis".

The Abdullah Azzam Brigade, named after the Palestinian cleric who was Osama bin Laden's mentor before his death in 1989, claims to operate across the Middle East but is most closely associated with Lebanon.

The claim of responsibility came from Sheikh Sirajeddine Zuraiqat, its spiritual guide. He said the aim of the attack was to "drag Hizbollah and Iran out of Syria" and to secure the release of its prisoners from Lebanese jails.


/AzerTAc/