At least 24 people killed and 53 people injured on Saturday in an armed attack targeting a military march in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahwaz, local media reported.
Out of 24 killed, at least 11 were members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. A journalist named Yunus Purhulu was among those killed, Anadolu Agency reports,
A woman and a child were among the injured, Iran’s official news agency (IRNA) reported.
Iranian local media reported that gunmen wearing military uniforms fired at the Iranian forces during a military parade, an attack that lasted for about 10 minutes.
Four or five terrorists were gunned down by police, IRNA reported.
“Terrorists recruited, trained, armed and paid by a foreign regime have attacked Ahvaz. Children and journos among casualties. Iran holds regional terror sponsors and their US masters accountable for such attacks. Iran will respond swiftly and decisively in defense of Iranian lives,” tweeted Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
According to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) spokesman Ramezan Sharif said “The attack by some elements of al-Ahvaziya group which is fed by Saudi Arabia, aimed to overshadow the magnificence of the parade by the Iranian armed forces.”
Iranian authorities “temporarily” shut down two border crossings with Iraq, according to an Iraqi customs official who spoke to Anadolu Agency.