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Lebanon blasts near Iran's embassy in Beirut

Seven people are reported to have been killed in explosions near the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Iran is a major backer of the Lebanaese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian conflict has increased sectarian tensions in Lebanon.

South Beirut, including the area around the Iranian embassy, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. It has been hit with several attacks in recent months.

The main gate to the embassy was blown out and there was damage to the three-storey building, the Associated Press reported.

AP and the Hezbollah TV channel al-Manar quoted sources saying that the first blast was caused by a suicide bomber, while the second was a car bomb, which did much more damage.

However, this has not been officially confirmed.

On 15 August, 16 people were killed in a blast in south Beirut believed to be linked to the spillover into Lebanon from the Syrian conflict.

Hezbollah fighters were instrumental in a strategic victory by Syrian government forces in Qusair, close to the border with Lebanon, in early June.

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