At least 10 people have been killed and 20, including a child and a woman, were wounded in the attack
In an attack by gunmen on a military parade in Iran’s southern city of Ahvaz on Saturday, ten people were killed and at least 20 others injured, Press TV reported.
The attack was launched on people from behind a viewing stand at Qods Boulevard of Ahvaz during the morning parade held to mark the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran in the 1980’s
“Individuals disguised in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and Basij uniforms fired at officials and people from behind the stand, leaving a number of innocent people including women and children martyred or injured,” Governor of Khuzestan Province Gholamreza Shariati said.
“So far, the martyrdom of three people has been verified in this subversive and anti-security action, with more than 20 other injured who were transferred to hospital,” he told the official IRNA news agency.
Ramezan Sharif, The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) spokesperson, said the attackers were affiliated to a terrorist group supported by Saudi Arabia.
“The individuals who fired at the people and the armed forces during the parade are connected to the al-Ahvaziya group which is fed by Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Sharif further added that the shooting is not unprecedented and the group which is also supported by the UK has attacked convoys of those visiting the former frontlines of Saddam’s war on Iran in recent years.
The Fars news agency said citizens watching the parade first thought that the shooting was inadvertent. “After several people were injured, they realized it is a terrorist attack,” it said.
Sharif while commenting on the attack said that people had been invited to the ceremony and the terrorists targeted both the people and the armed forces in the attack. “The attack aimed to overshadow the magnificence of the parade by the armed forces,” he said.
Similar parades are held in other cities across Iran, including Tehran where President Hassan Rouhani said the US administration will suffer the same fate as Saddam.
The attack comes after a US-backed campaign to stir up unrest in Iranian cities fell flat. The effort, known as the Hot Summer Project, sought to whip up public anger over water and electricity shortages in the face of a protracted drought.
