In pictures: Twin blasts near Iranian embassy in south Beirut

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  Lebanese civil defence personnel extinguish cars on fire at the site of explosions near the Iranian embassy in Beirut. Mahmoud Kheir / Reuters

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  It was not immediately clear what had caused the explosions, and local reports said the blasts were caused by two car bombs. Hasan Shaaban / Reuters

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  Debris was scattered on the street and cars were on fire as people ran away from the chaotic scene. The second blast was metres away from the embassy. Hussein Malla / AP Photo

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  The predominantly-Shiite south Beirut has been targeted in the past months with car bombs and rockets in what Syrian rebels say is retaliation to the militant Hizbollah group’s involvement in the battles along President Bashar Al Assad’s forces in Syria’s civil war. Hussein Malla / AP Photo

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  A Lebanese man tries to pull a body out of a burned car. Hussein Malla / AP Photo

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  Rescue teams, journalists and security forces gather at the scene of a car bomb explosion in Bir Hassan neighbourhood in southern Beirut on November 19, 2013. A powerful blast in the Lebanese capital killed at least 10 people outside the Iranian embassy, police and security sources told AFP. AFP PHOTO/ANWAR AMRO

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  Lebanese Red Cross workers try to rescue to a person from a car wrecked by the blast. Bilal Hussein / AP Photo

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  Lebanese soldiers and emergency personnel gather at the site of a blast in Bir Hassan neighbourhood in southern Beirut. Anwar Amro / AFP Photo

Two explosions struck near the Iranian Embassy in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, killing at least 23 people, wounding scores and causing damage to the mission and nearby buildings.