At least 24 people, including 12 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel were killed and 53 injured after unidentified gunmen targeted a military parade in southwestern Iran’s Ahvaz city on Saturday, state media said.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that eight troops had been killed and 20 people, including a woman and child, were wounded in the terror attack.
The semi-official Fars news agency said that four gunmen on a motorcycle, who were disguised as military personnel, carried out the attack. Deputy governor in Khuzestan province, Ali Hosein Hoseinzadeh, said that two gunmen were killed by security forces and two others were injured, reported Al-Jazeera.
According to some reports, the responsibility for the attack has been claimed by a group known as “Patriotic Arab Democratic Movement in Ahwaz”. The group claims to struggle for a separate state for Ahwaz nation. Iran alleges the group is supported by Saudi Arabia.
Several parades are being conducted across Iran to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, that began from 1980 to 1988.
Ahvaz, the capital of Khuzestan province, is rich in oil reserves and has seen a number of attacks by the Arab separatists in the past. The city was also one of the few venues of anti-government protests late last year.