In Lebanon, the Iranian embassy under attack by Al Qaeda

 

At least 23 people were killed and 146 injured in an attack that took place outside the embassy ‘of Iran in Beirut, Tuesday, Nov. 19, according to the Lebanese government. Among the victims was the advisor Iranian cultural, whose death was confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic. The ambassador, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, would it safe and sound.

After several hours of confusion, the army said the Lebanese attacks were suicide bombings. According to Lebanese officials, the images collected by the security cameras show that a suicide bomber was behind a blast at the first front of the embassy, and a car bomb exploded a few minutes later, two buildings further. Information stated that there had been two successive explosions shortly before 10 am local time.

The attacks were claimed by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an Islamic group linked to Al Qaeda. The group, which began operating in 2009, is an offshoot ‘of Al-Qaeda in Iraq . Created by the Saudi Al-Saleh Qaraawi, this “subsidiary” is based both in Lebanon and in the Arabian Peninsula, according to the U.S. State Department . The organization was conducted in July 2010 an attack against a Japanese tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, and would be responsible for several rocket attacks carried out from Lebanon against northern ‘of Israel .

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The media Lebanese, including Al-Manar TV, broadcast images of the scene, showing the bodies and wounded, flames and columns of black smoke. On site, our correspondent Laura Stephan described pools of blood, broken glass and body parts littering the ground, after having stolen from the terraces located above the embassy. Several cars were burned. Very powerful explosion was heard several kilometers around.

The army has cordoned off the area around the embassy, located in the residential area of Bir Hassan, considered a stronghold of the powerful Shiite party Hezbollah.Rescuers seem to have done to remove the dead and injured, who do not have children. Many people come check whether their relatives are not victims. The presence of the Shiite movement Amal fighters patrolling in front of buildings burned arm end with Kalashnikovs adds to the tension there.

The civil war in Syria , neighboring Lebanon has exacerbated tensions between Sunnis and Shiites, especially Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, which is committed to fight alongside Damascus as long as necessary. Tehran, for its part, accuses Israel. “The terrorist act” committed outside the Iranian embassy is “inhuman and hateful Zionists and their mercenaries crime” , said the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marzieh Afkham In a statement released by the official IRNA news agency.

In Lebanon, the Iranian embassy under attack by Al Qaeda