By bassem mroue, associated press

A Lebanese official says the death toll from a twin suicide bombing that struck a Shiite suburb in southern Beirut has reached 16.

George Kittaneh, head of the Lebanese Red Cross operations, told Lebanon’s LBC television that along with the 26 killed, the Thursday evening attack also left 40 wounded.

The explosions his minutes apart in an area called Burj al-Barajneh during rush hour. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Southern Beirut is a stronghold of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group that it fighting in Syria along with government forces there. The area has been hit in the past. Sunni militant groups have threatened to carry out more such attacks.