TEHRAN – Twenty-four people were killed and 53 wounded by militants whoopened fire on a military parade in southwestern Iran on Saturday, theofficial IRNA news agency reported.
“The number of dead of the terrorist incident reached 24, some of whom werewomen and children among the spectators,” IRNA said, adding that the deathtoll could rise further as many of the wounded were in critical condition.
Two gunmen opened fire on the large crowd of spectators watching the paradein the city of Ahvaz and then attempted to attack the viewing stand forofficial dignitaries before being shot and wounded by security forces, thesemi-official Fars news agency said.
The rare attack targeted Khuzestan, a province bordering Iraq that has alarge ethnic Arab community, and was a major battleground of thedevastating 1980-88 conflict between Iran and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
Saturday’s rally was one of many in cities across Iran held to mark theanniversary of the launch of the war with massive Iraqi air strikes.
Attacks by Kurdish rebels on military patrols along the border in mainlyethnic Kurdish areas further north are relatively common.
But attacks on regime targets inside major cities are far rarer.
On June 7, 2017, 17 people were killed and dozens wounded in simultaneousattacks in Tehran on the parliament building and on the tomb ofrevolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini.
In April, 26 alleged militants went on trial on charges connected with thattwin attack.
The judiciary-linked Mizan news agency said several of the accused wereIranians who had left to join them in neighbouring countries and thenreturned.
Five attackers were killed on the day, but police said at the time thatfive people had been arrested at the scene of the attacks in central andsouth Tehran.
Dozens more arrests were reported in the following months — many inoperations along the borders with Iraq and Turkey. – APP/AFP