Fatal blast near Iran's Beirut embassy

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