Al-Qaeda-linked group vows attacks on Iran, Hezbollah

The Abdallah Azzam Brigades, an al-Qaeda offshoot, vowed this week to carry on their leader’s mission in attacking Iran and Hezbollah, saying Majid al-Majid personally oversaw the November twin suicide bombings outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.

“The project of its leader, Majid al-Majid, will be maintained by attacking Iran and its party [Hezbollah] even after his death,” a statement by the group said, adding that the project would also defend the Sunni community and target what it said were “the Jewish oppressors.”

"Majid passed away after he laid the foundations for an ambitious project and after years of raising up men capable of managing his project after his passing,” it added.

Last month, the Lebanese Army apprehended the head of the Abdallah Azzam Brigades, Majid, who later died while at a military hospital in Beirut. The party had claimed responsibility for an attack on the Iranian Embassy.

On Nov. 19, two suicide bombers targeted Iran's embassy in Beirut, killing 30 people including an Iranian diplomat.

In the statement, the party said Majid “personally oversaw the two bombings against the Iranian Embassy in Beirut last November and he directly supervised preparations and the execution.”

Majid was wanted by the U.S., Lebanon and Saudi Arabia among other Arab states for allegedly carrying out terrorist attacks there.

Lebanon repatriated Majid’s remains to Saudi Arabia last week.

The brigades also said that Majid, who reportedly suffered kidney problems, entered Lebanon on Dec. 4 for treatment and had been in a coma ever since.

“The Iranian party was not able to reach him or sense his presence until he was arrested on Dec. 27 after reports of his disease,” it said.

Iran’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier this week during his visit to Beirut that Tehran will soon send a delegation to Lebanon to probe Majid’s case.

He also said that regional countries should exert joint efforts to combat the rising phenomenon of terrorism in the Middle East, noting that good ties between Riyadh and Tehran were needed for regional stability.