BEIRUT
Suicide bombers were behind Tuesday's bombings that targeted the Iranian embassy in Beirut, the Lebanese army said.
The Lebanese army said that a bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up at the entrance of the Iranian embassy compound.
Minutes later, a second bomber detonated an explosive-laden 4x4 vehicle at the compound, the army added in a statement.
At least 32 people, including the Iranian cultural attaché, were killed and dozens injured in twin bombings targeting the Iranian embassy in Beirut.
But the Lebanese Health Ministry said that 23 people were killed and 147 others injured in the explosions.
An al-Qaeda affiliate has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which left several nearby buildings and vehicles damaged.
"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.
Abdullah Hamada, 24, a Syrian national, recounted the moments when the explosions rocked the area.
"We heard a powerful explosion. As we moved to help the injured people, a second blast shook 50 meters away from the site of the first blast," he told Anadolu Agency.
"I rushed to the area when the first explosion rocked the area, but the second blast went off, leaving me injured," added Hussein Eissa, 25, a Syrian national.
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
