For years Iran supported al-Qaeda’s terror acts throughout the world. Now becasue of their death match in Syria, they have become mortal enemies. The Iranian embassy in Beirut was the target of 2 suicide bombers. Al-Qaeda’s Lebanese affiliate the Abdullah Azzam Brigades has claimed responsibility.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two explosions rocked the Iranian Embassy compound in Beirut on Tuesday killing at least 23 people and injuring scores, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The Iranian ambassador, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, confirmed on Al Manar television that the cultural attaché, identified as Sheikh Ibrahim Ansari, was among the dead.
The attack seemed to fit a pattern of deepening political and sectarian division across the region inspired by the civil war in Syria. Syria’s conflict has drawn in fighters from neighboring Lebanon on both sides, with Sunni militants flocking to fight alongside rebels and Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite organization allied with Iran, sending its militiamen to support President Bashar al-Assad.
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Lebanese media reported that responsibility for the embassy attack was claimed by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an offshoot of Al Qaeda with branches in several countries in the region, including Lebanon. The claim could not immediately be confirmed.
The Iranian ambassador appeared on news channels blaming Israel for the blast, which Israeli officials denied. More broadly, though, Lebanese officials and residents alike placed the bombing in the context of the Syrian war, which Lebanon’s political factions have fueled even as they call on citizens to keep the fighting outside of Lebanon.
The Iranians blame Israel while clearly it was al-Qaeda. Let them keep blaming Israel, while al-Qaeda who is the real culprit keeps bombing them.
(Hat Tip: Rain of Lead)
