TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday they had killed about 30 people who were the “main elements” behind a bomb attack in northwest Iran.
Senior Guards commander Abdolrasoul Mahmoudabadi told state television that the Guards were chasing one or two other members of the group behind the blast, which killed 12 people and injured 80 in the city of Mahabad on Wednesday.
“They were ambushed near the Iran-Iraq border some 30 main members of the terrorist group were killed in clashes,” he said.
“There are still one or two members of the group members who managed to flee but they will be arrested soon.”
Analysts say incidents like the blast could further pressure President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government, which is facing deepening political in-fighting and economic pain because of foreign sanctions imposed over Iran’s disputed nuclear program.
Iranian authorities blame the blast, which took place during an annual military parade, on “anti-revolutionary” militants backed by Iran’s enemies, the United States and Israel.
“Investigations showed that intelligence services of America and the Zionist regime (Israel) as well as members of the Iraqi Baath party were behind the blast,” Mahmoudabadi said. “Bandits backed by Mossad and the CIA carried out the blast.”
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred durin… >>>
