Al Qaeda affiliate claims Iranian embassy attack in Beirut

WARNING: STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT

This was the immediate aftermath of twin suicide blasts that rocked the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Tuesday.

At least 23 people were killed, including Iran's Cultural Attache, and some 150 wounded.

Witnesses describe the moments after the first blast.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE SHOP OWNER, RABIH ISTANBULI, SAYING:

"Some went out onto balconies, others went into the street, all looking at the blast site. The second explosion that happened was very big, everyone was wounded because of it. I saw them myself. People falling from balconies, others hit by things from balconies falling on them."

Lebanese officials say security camera footage shows a man wearing an explosives belt rushed at the embassy's outer wall, before blowing himself up.

They say the second explosion was from a car bomb two buildings away.

Medical teams rushed survivors to hospital.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BLAST VICTIM, IBRAHI