Al Qaeda-linked group claims responsibility for Beirut blasts

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an Al Qaeda-linked group, claimed responsibility for the twin blasts that Wednesday targeted the Iranian cultural mission in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

At 9.30 a.m. (7.30 a.m. GMT) Wednesday morning, a suicide bomber detonated a booby-trapped car near the Iranian cultural mission in the Bir Hassan neighborhood, the heartland of Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Xinhua reported citing Aljadeed TV and eyewitnesses.

Moments later, another suicide bomber riding a motorcycle set off another bomb amidst the crowd.

In a message on its Twitter account, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a group designated a terrorist organisation by many countries, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings.

Lebanon's Public Health Minister Wael Abou Faour has put the death toll from the blasts at five and said more than 80 others were injured.

He added that the twin suicide bombings were aimed at destabilising the security situation in the country following the formation of the new Lebanese cabinet.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades has also claimed responsibility for the twin blasts that targeted the Iranian embassy in the same area Nov 19 last year.

The Lebanese army had captured Majed al-Majed, a Saudi national who was known as the "Emir" of the group, but he later died while in custody Jan 4 this year.