Ahvaz Terrorist Attack: 24 Martyred, 60+ Injured in Military Parade Shooting

Local Editor

Gunmen fired on a military parade in southwestern Iran Saturday, martyring 24 people, half of them members of the Revolutionary Guards, state news agencies reported, in one of the worst attacks ever on the elite force.

State television said the assault, which wounded more than 60 people, targeted a stand where Iranian officials had gathered to watch an annual event marking the start of the Islamic Republic's 1980-88 war with Iraq.

"There are a number of non-military victims, including women and children who had come to watch the parade," state news IRNA agency quoted an unnamed official source as saying.

"Three of the terrorists were killed on the spot and a fourth one who was injured died in hospital," Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a senior spokesman for Iran's armed forces, told state television.

Ali Hosein Hoseinzadeh, deputy governor in Khuzestan province, was quoted as saying the death toll was expected to rise. One of those martyred was a journalist.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the city of Ahvaz.

State television blamed "Takfiri elements”, for the attack. Ahvaz is in the center of Khuzestan province.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the assault was the handiwork of "regional terror sponsors," language that usually refers to Iran's enemies Saudi Arabia and Israel, and "their US masters." He vowed Tehran would respond decisively.

The semi-official news agency ISNA said an unnamed spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards blamed Arab nationalists backed by Saudi Arabia for the attack.

Four militants carried out the attack and two of them were killed, according to ISNA. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack in the city of Ahvaz.

Iran was holding similar parades in several cities including the capital Tehran and the port of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf.

"Shooting began by several gunmen from behind the stand during the parade. There are several killed and injured," a correspondent told state television.

Source: News Agencies, Edited on website team