Photo taken on Nov. 19 shows the explosion scene in Beirut, Lebanon. The death toll from the twin bombings that rocked area Tuesday near the Iranian embassy in Beirut rose to 23 killed and 146 others injured, the Lebanese caretaker health minister said. (Xinhua/koka)

The death toll from the twin bombings that rocked area Tuesday near the Iranian embassy in Beirut rose to 23 killed and 146 others injured, the Lebanese caretaker health minister said.

Ali Hassan Khalil said that the toll from the blast, which took place in Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of the capital, could rise further, according to the state-run National News agency (NNA).

The NNA said earlier that a suicide bomber blew himself up in a parking lot near the embassy at 10:15 a.m. followed by another suicide bomber who blew a bobby-trapped car near the embassy.

Iran's ambassador to Beirut Ghazanfar Roknabadi confirmed the death of Iran's cultural adviser in the blasts.

A local security source estimated the weight of the explosive materials used in the explosion to be around 100 kgs of TNT.

Al Mayadeen TV reported that the civil defense teams managed to put off the huge fire that erupted due to the explosions and is working on rescuing the people who were trapped in the homes.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Roknabadi and offered him condolences over the victims.

On August 15 a booby trapped car bomb exploded in the Rouweiss neighborhood in the southern suburbs, killing 15 people and injuring more than 150 others.

On August 23 twin car bombings targeted two mosques in the northern port city of Tripoli, leaving 47 killed and more than 350 others injured.

Both bombings were related to the Syrian crisis and the involvement of Lebanese political factions, particularly Hezbollah in the ongoing fighting in the neighboring country.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman has called on all Lebanese to respect the official policy of disassociation adopted by the government, and refrain from getting involved in the Syrian crisis.

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