2013 Iranian embassy bombing
| Iranian embassy bombings | |
|---|---|
| Part of Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon | |
Location of Beirut in Lebanon
|
|
| Location | Jinah, Beirut, Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 33°51′21.55″N 35°29′21.92″E / 33.8559861°N 35.4894222°ECoordinates: 33°51′21.55″N 35°29′21.92″E / 33.8559861°N 35.4894222°E |
| Date | 19 November 2013 (EET) |
| Target | Iranian embassy, Beirut |
|
Attack type
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Suicide bomber, car bomb |
| Deaths | 23 |
|
Non-fatal injuries
|
160 |
| Perpetrators |
Abdullah Azzam Brigades (al-Qaeda affiliate) Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah (Hezbollah claim) |
The Iranian embassy bombing was a double suicide bombing that occurred in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on 19 November 2013. The two bombings resulted in 23 deaths and injured at least 160 others.
The bombings were seen as part of the spillover of the Syrian Civil War, in which Hezbollah and Iran have supported the Syrian government, while the Abdullah Azzam Brigades have fought against the Syrian government. On the same day as the bombing, Syrian government forces seized the town of Qarah from rebel fighters in an opening action in the Battle of Qalamoun.
The Syrian government effort at the time to eliminate the rebel stronghold in Qalamoun, a region along the Lebanese border with strong ties to the Lebanese Sunni town of Arsal, with strong support of Hezbollah fighters, was expected by some analysts to raise tensions within Lebanon.
The area immediately outside the embassy gates was hit by two consecutive blasts. The first was reported to be carried out by a bomber either on a motorcycle or on foot. After people had rushed to the scene, a 4x4 vehicle two buildings away from the embassy blew up in a second, deadlier explosion. The two blasts occurred within 2 minutes of each other. Six buildings were reported to have been damaged. The bombs destroyed some building fronts and severely damaged the embassy gates, but caused only fairly minor damage to the embassy building.
According to Lebanon's Health Ministry at least 23 people were killed and 147 wounded. Iranian cultural attaché Ebrahim Ansari was among the dead, with five Iranian security personnel wounded. Ansari and the Iranian ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi were scheduled to leave the embassy to attend a meeting at the Ministry of Culture at around the time when the bombs went off. The embassy's head of security, a Lebanese national, was also killed in the blast.
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Wikipedia