Occupied Baluchistan, Zahedan: At least 20 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in two suicide bombings outside a mosque in south-eastern Iran.
Members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards were among those who died when the blast struck outside the main mosque in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province, IRNA state news agency reported.
"The first explosion took place behind a checkpoint, and a number of Revolutionary Guard members were killed and injured because of it," Ali Abdollahi, the deputy interior minister, told the Fars news agency.
The head of the province's medical emergency department, Fariborz Rashedi, said: "In the two explosions in Zahedan more than 20 people were killed and over 100 were injured."
Local prosecutor Mohammad Marzieh told IRNA that 21 people had died.
No group has yet claimed of responsibility for the bombings. But Hoseinali Shahriari, Zahedan's MP, told Fars he believed Sunni insurgent group Jundollah were behind the attacks.
Jundullah are accused by Tehran of mounting terrorist attacks with the support of the US, Britain and Pakistan. The government also claims they are linked to al-Qaida.
The group, which is based in Sistan-Baluchistan province, has claimed responsibility for bombings that have killed scores in recent years, including five senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard last year.
The insurgents say they are fighting for the rights of the Sunni Baluch minority in south-eastern Iran, whom they claim are discriminated against by the Shia regime.
In June, Iran hanged the group's leader, Abdulhamid Rigi, in Zahedan after he was found guilty of carrying out attacks against civilians, armed robbery, and engaging in a disinformation campaign against Iran.
His younger brother, Abdulhamid, was executed in May after being captured in Pakistan in 2008 and extradited to Iran.
Meanwhile statement issued on Taftaan News Agency claimed that the attacks were carried out by jundollah. the statement claimed that there were revolutionary guards in the Mosque who were celebrating ‘Revolutionary Guard’s Day’ and the attack killed 10s of them.
The Jondollah statement has named the two suicide bombers as Mohammad Rigi and Abdolbasset Rigi. . It adds that the attack was a message sent to the barbaric regime who thought they would silence the struggle against the government atrocities by arresting and hanging their leader Abdolmalek Rigi. (English translation by Balochi News).
No comments:
Post a Comment