The Abdullah Azzam brigades, a Lebanon-based al Qaeda affiliate, said it was behind a double suicide attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Tuesday, according to the Twitter page of a cleric linked to the group.
"The Abdullah Azzam brigades - the Hussein bin Ali cells - may they please God - are behind the attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut," Sheikh Sirajeddine Zuraiqat, the group's religious guide, posted on Twitter.
The brigades threatened more attacks in Lebanon until Iran pulled its forces out of Syria and their prisoners were released from Lebanese jails, the post added.
This after two explosions targeting the Iranian embassy hit the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, security sources said, killing at least 23 people, wounding at least 146 and damaging buildings in the embassy compound.
Live footage from local news channels showed charred bodies on the ground as flames rose from the remains of several vehicles. Aid workers and residents carried away some of the victims on blankets.
An armed guard of the Iranian embassy told AP that the first blast was believed to have been carried out by a suicide attacker who rode a motorcycle and blew himself up outside the gate. The other explosion, which caused much more damage, was a car bomb, the guard said.
Sources told LBCI that the Cultural Attache of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sheikh Ibrahim Ansari was killed in the blasts. Ansari took his post in Lebanon a month ago and was overseeing all regional cultural activities.
Later, reports stated that he was still alive but in a critical condition; however, caretaker Health Minister Hassan Khalil confirmed the latter's immediate death following Beirut twin explosions
.
The Lebanese Red Cross rushed 11 ambulances and 50 rescuers to the area of the blast.
Caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr arrived swiftly to inspect the damage.
Caretaker Health Minister asked from all Beirut's and the suburbs hospitals to accept the wounded for immediate treatment.
In this context, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati asked the Disaster Management Authority to hold an urgent meeting at the Grand Serail to follow up on the implications of the blasts and called Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Roken Abadi to inquire about his safety and the safety of the mission's employees.
This as sources reported to LBCI that the bomb used in the first attack that targeted Iranian Embassy in Bir Hassan weighed 5 KG, while second weighed at around 60 KG.
Earlier, the state-run National News Agency mentioned that the first blast came as a result of an on foot suicide bomber and the second due to a booby trapped car carrying more than 100 kg of explosive material.
The twin blasts that rocked Beirut this morning have injured at least
146 persons, some of whom were transferred to the Rafik Hariri governmental hospital and were identified as: Nada Soubra, Jamal Nasreddine, Mona Badreddine, Lina Sleiman, Nathalie Abou al-Malamaty, Mahmoud Shhab, Mohammad Karim, Hussein Badreddine Atwi, Ziad Hadraj, Mohammad Abed Naamany, Mehdi Abdul Hussein al-Sabalany, Rami Snan, Abdullah Hmad, Lina Snan, Ahmad Badreddine, Adib Fares, Chadi, Syrian national Adbullah Jomaa, Yemeni national Ismail Mahkyari and Dilia from the Ivory Coast.
Other five injured from the Bengali nationality were identified as: Yarouni Raas Eddine, Aziza Aktar, Noar, Yared and Sizar.
The wounded who were transferred to Al Rasul Al Aazam Hospital were identified as: Zein Ahmad Ktaych (1968), Abdul Anan Sharif (1986), Mehdi Khalil Rimal (1985), Ali Mohammad al-Husseini, Youssef Khalil, Khaled Habouch (1974), Youssef Baljouk, Akel Hassan Khazaal (1968), Abdul Karim Mubarak, Hussein Mohammad Mustafa (1967), Bilal Abdul Hadi Jalwan, Issa Ghorfa, Radwan Hussein Kheieddine, Mahmoud Abdul Karim al-Assaf, Hussein Jamil Ghamlouch, Mahmoud Issa Khalil, Ali Saadalla Awali and Ahmad Mohammad Kasem (1987).
To watch a video depicting the first moment following the two explosions that targeted the Iranian Embassy, please click on this link
Public mourning day:
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued on Tuesday a memorandum declaring Thursday, November 21 as a national mourning day. The memorandum stipulates that work will stop for one hour (from 11:00 am until noon) in all public and private institutions.
Reactions:
"We tell those who carried out the attack, you will not be able to break us," Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Mikdad told Al-Mayadeen TV. "We got the message and we know who sent it and we know how to retaliate."
Iran blamed Israel for the blasts, stating that the Jewish state was behind the explosions that rocked the south Beirut neighborhood.
In turn, Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi condemned 'in the strongest terms' Beirut’s twin blasts near the Iranian embassy.
As well, the French presidency issued a statement whereby it strongly denounced the “bloody” attack that hit Beirut.
For its part, the United States condemned the bombings at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.
In this regard, US officials urged all parties to exercise calm and restraint to avoid inflaming the situation further, and called on all parties to cooperate with the Lebanese government’s investigation of this crime.
On the local level, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman contacted from Kuwait Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Roken Abadi, denouncing the attack that targeted the embassy in Lebanon.
Sleiman added that terrorist messages do not change the convictions of the Lebanese people, asking them to strengthen their national unity.
It is worth noting that President Sleiman will be cutting short his visit to Kuwait, and is set to arrive to Beirut this evening after delivering his speech in the African-Arab Summit.
For his part, Speaker Nabih Berri condemned the terrorist attack, noting that it aims to undermine Lebanon’s unity and to divide the people.
In turn, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri voiced his rejection to the twin explosions, adding that this incident highlights the need to steer Lebanon clear of the surrounding hazards.
Meanwhile, Head of the National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblatt said that national unity is needed at this stage more than other time, urging all Lebanese factions to resort to national dialogue.
Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn stressed that the security apparatuses are fulfilling their duties and have launched investigations, noting that they are exerting tireless efforts in order to reveal whether other car bombs have entered Lebanon.
This as, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani noted that Tuesday’s incident proves that the criminals are keen on destabilizing the country and fomenting sedition among the Muslims, and said: “Israel is the sole beneficiary of the incident”