Iran arrests 22 over links to Ahvaz attack

TEHRAN

Twenty-two people have been arrested for suspected links to an attack in southwestern Iran that left at least 25 dead, the country’s Intelligence Ministry said Monday.

The arrests occurred during a police raid and the bodies of the gunmen have been identified, the ministry said in a statement.

A number of explosives and military equipment were also seized.

On Saturday, 25 people, including 17 soldiers, were killed and 69 others were injured when gunmen wearing military uniforms opened fire on a military parade in the city of Ahvaz.

The casualties included a woman and a child, a journalist and members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Iranian Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi later announced that three terrorists involved in the attack had been killed on the spot while a fourth who had been wounded died in hospital.

Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps spokesman Ramezan Sharif accused elements of the al-Ahvaziya group, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, for the attack, saying it "aimed to overshadow the magnificence of the parade by the Iranian armed forces”.

The self-proclaimed Daesh terrorist organization later claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq News Agency but did not publish any video footage to support it.