Upwards of 43 people were killed and 240 wounded Thursday in two suicide bomb attacks in Beirut that appeared to target a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon’s capital.
Reuters reported that the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the twin bombings in a statement circulated online. The blasts occurred close together Thursday, one targeting a community center and the other a bakery, according to sources. They also struck close to a hospital run by Hezbollah.
According to Lebanese Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, a third suicide bomber was killed by one of the blasts before he could set off his bomb.
The attacks come just as Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Muslim terror group, escalates its involvement in the Syrian civil war, sending troops to fight alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government forces. Assad has been combating Syrian insurgents and the Islamic State. Assad’s troops are also receiving support from Iranian troops and Russian airstrikes.
In response to Russia’s military intervention in Syria, the Islamic State threatened to wage attacks in the country "very soon," according to reports Thursday.