Raad Blames 'Western-Israeli Alliance' for Beirut Blasts
Head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad blamed a "Western-Israeli alliance" and regional powers that back radical Sunni Islamist "takfiri" groups for Tuesday's deadly suicide bombings near the Iranian embassy in Beirut.
The mid-morning blasts ripped through a stronghold of Hizbullah, where the Iranian embassy is located, killing 23 people and wounding 146.
"The aim (of the attacks) is to advance the program of murder, sabotage and chaos, threatening national unity and targeting stability," said Raad.
"The program is being followed by a Western-Israeli alliance, whose interests intersect with those of regional powers and takfiri groups," he added, referring to radical Sunni extremists.
Iran-backed Hizbullah is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and has deployed fighters to support loyalist troops in the country's civil war.
Echoing Assad's rhetoric, Hizbullah says it is fighting Al-Qaida-affiliated jihadists who receive backing from Gulf states.
Ever since Hizbullah acknowledged sending fighters to Syria, a deep sectarian gulf has widened in Lebanon between Shiites and Sunnis, many of whom support the anti-Assad revolt.
Tuesday's blasts were claimed by an Al-Qaida-affiliated group, Abdullah Azzam Brigades.
They were the latest in a string of attacks that have struck Lebanon in recent months.
A car bomb hit the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 9, causing no fatalities, and again on August 15, killing 27 people.
Eight days later, two car bombs hit the northern city of Tripoli, killing 45 people.
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