27 killed, 300 injured in twin suicide attacks in southeast Iran
Two suicide bomb attacks claimed 27 lives and left at least 300 people injured in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan on Thursday.
The first bomb went off at 9:30 p.m. local time in front of the Zahedan Grand Mosque as people were celebrating the birth anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (S).
Within minutes of the first bomb blast, as people nearby rushed to help the victims, a second suicide bomber detonated his explosives, causing greater carnage.
Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were among the casualties.
The death toll, initially estimated at 20, has risen to 27 and at least 300 people were injured, some with life-threatening injuries, local officials said on Friday.
Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi confirmed the number of casualties on Friday and lamented that 11 of the injured were in critical condition. She added that 170 of the injured have been operated on in various local hospitals and others were receiving medical attention.
She also said that a group of surgeons and medical specialists was dispatched from Tehran to Zahedan on Thursday night to treat the injured people.
The Jundullah terrorist group, whose former ringleader Abdolmalek Rigi was executed at Tehran’s Evin prison on June 21, has issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attacks.
The announcement, which was posted on the Jundullah web site, said the terrorist group carried out the attacks in revenge for their leader’s execution. It showed pictures of two suicide bombers wearing explosive vests.
Iran executed Abdolmalek Rigi a month after his brother Abdulhamid Rigi, who had been captured in Pakistan in 2008 and extradited to Iran, was hanged in Zahedan.
Sistan-Baluchestan Province Governor Ali-Mohammad Azad declared a three-day mourning period in the province. He also offered condolences to the families of the martyrs and the injured.
Once again, the agents of the global arrogance (imperialist countries), who are enemies of God, displayed their enmity toward the Iranian people over their unity and solidarity, he stated.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the Zahedan Friday prayers leader and the Sistan-Baluchestan Province governor strongly condemned the terrorist acts and called on the people to maintain their unity.
The Sunni and Shia Friday prayer leaders from across the province have all condemned the cowardly terrorist acts.
In response to the terrorist attacks, MP Hossein Ali Shahriari, who represents Zahedan Province in the Iranian parliament, tendered his resignation to Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani on Friday.
He said he was resigning because of the failure of the authorities to maintain security in his constituency.
MP Gholamreza Karami of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee strongly denounced the terrorist attacks and blamed the mercenaries of the United States and NATO for what he called efforts to destabilize Iran’s eastern borders.
While they were in custody, Abdolmalek Rigi and his brother confessed to their crimes and provided corroborative evidence that they had been in direct contact with U.S. and NATO forces and that their terrorist group operated under the auspices of the United States, Karami added.
“The terrorist acts in the east of the country were carried out with the aim of fanning the flames of sectarian violence, destabilizing the border areas, waging psychological warfare, and undermining the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he observed.
However, such senseless terrorist acts, despite the aims of those who give the orders, will only consolidate Iran’s national cohesion, he added.
Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan Province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Source: tehrantimes.com
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