EU appalled by Bir Hassan suicide attack

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday said she was "appalled" by a double suicide bombing outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut that killed at least 23 people. Ashton "is appalled by the bombing" and "condemns this terrorist attack in the strongest terms," a statement from her office said. The mid-morning attack, which the caretaker health ministry said also wounded 146 people, has been claimed by an al-Qaida-linked jihadist group. Ashton "reaffirms that the use of violence against civilians cannot be accepted" and "she calls for a swift investigation into the events to bring the perpetrators to justice". She also reiterated the European Union's "continued support to Lebanon and commitment to Lebanon's unity, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity." The army said a motorcyclist blew himself up moments before a suicide bomber driving a four-wheel-drive detonated his payload in the southern Beirut stronghold of Hizbullah.