Suicide bombers target Iranian centre in Beirut

Civil defence members put out a fire at the site of an explosion near the Iranian cultural centre in the southern suburbs of Beirut February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers targeted the Iranian cultural centre in Beirut on Wednesday, killing four people and themselves in an attack claimed by Sunni militants who said it was a response to the intervention of Iran and Hezbollah in the Syrian war.

The army said two cars packed with explosives had been used in the rush hour attack in the predominantly Shi'ite southern suburbs of Beirut. Similar tactics were used in a twin suicide attack on the nearby Iranian embassy in November.