Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and the Mausoleum of
Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people in
a twin assault. Islamic State claimed responsibility and released a video purporting to show gunmen inside the parliament building.
The attacks took place at a particularly charged time after Saudi Arabia
and other Sunni powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of
backing Tehran and militant groups."This
terrorist attack happened only a week after the meeting between the
U.S. president (Donald Trump) and the (Saudi) backward leaders who
support terrorists. The fact that Islamic State has claimed
responsibility proves that they were involved in the brutal attack," a
Guards statement said.
Saudi
Attackers dressed as women burst through parliament's main entrance in central
Tehran, deputy interior minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari said,
according to the Tasnim news agency.One of them detonated a suicide vest in the parliament, he said. About five
hours after the first reports, Iranian media said four people who had
attacked parliament were dead and the incident was over.
At
least 12 people were killed by the attackers, the head of Iran's
emergency department, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, was quoted as saying by
state broadcaster IRIB. Some 43 people were wounded.
"I
was inside the parliament when shooting happened. Everyone was shocked
and scared. I saw two men shooting randomly," said one journalist at the
scene.
Soon after the assault on parliament, another bomber detonated a suicide
vest near the shrine of the Islamic Republic's revered founder,
Ayatollah Khomeini, a few kilometers south of the city, Zolfaghari said. A second attacker was shot dead, he said.
"The
terrorists had explosives strapped to them and suddenly entered the
shrine and started to shoot around," said the shrine's overseeer,
Mohammadali Ansari.
The Intelligence Ministry said security forces had arrested another "terrorist team" planning a third attack.
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