An al-Qaeda affiliate has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's twin bombings that targeted the Iranian embassy in Beirut and killed at least 32 people.
"The Hussein bin Ali cells of Abdullah Azzam Brigades are behind the attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut," Sirajeddine Zuraiqat, a Brigades leader, posted on his Twitter account.
He said the suicide bombings were "carried out by two Lebanese Sunnis."
He vowed more attacks until the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah withdrew its fighters from Syria and his fighters are released from Lebanese prisons.
At least 32 people, including the Iranian cultural attaché, were killed and dozens injured in twin bombings earlier today near the Iranian embassy in Beirut.
Several nearby buildings and vehicles were damaged by the blasts.
Security forces immediately sealed off the site of the two explosions, which occurred in Beirut's Southern District, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Military involvement by Hezbollah and Iran in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ongoing military conflict with armed rebel groups in Syria has drawn condemnation from Sunni-Muslim quarters both inside and outside Lebanon.
By Bola Asteih
englishnews@aa.com.tr
