Scene of Beirut blasts
Scene of Beirut blastsReuters

Lebanese authorities have identified one of the suicide bombers who attacked the Iranian embassy in Beirut, a security source said on Friday, according to the Reuters news agency.

The man was from the southern port city of Sidon and was known to have had links with Islamist groups, said the source.

Members of the man’s family have been asked to meet security forces for a DNA test to confirm their relationship with the bomber, and to pick up his remains.

Tuesday’s mid-morning blasts ripped through a stronghold of  Hezbollah, where the Iranian embassy is located, killing 23 people and wounding 146.

An Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group calling itself the Abdullah Azzam Brigades has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group, which in the past has claimed responsibility for rocket fire on Israel, has threatened more attacks in Lebanon if Iran did not end its involvement in the Syrian civil war.

Hours after the attack, a parliamentarian from Hezbollah blamed a "Western-Israeli alliance” for the deadly suicide bombings.

Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian war has resulted in a deep sectarian gulf in Lebanon between Shiites and Sunnis, many of whom support the anti-Assad revolt.

The attack was 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.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)