Several people have been killed after unknown gunmen opened fire during a military parade in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz, state television reported.
“Several gunmen began shooting from behind the stand during the parade. There are several killed and injured,” a correspondent told state television.
Saturday’s attack wounded 20 people, including a woman and child, according to the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency.
The semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to the elite Revolutionary Guard, said two gunmen on a motorcycle wearing khaki uniforms carried out the attack.
The parade was marking the start of the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted between 1980 and 1988.
The report Saturday described the assailants as “Takifiri gunmen,” a term previously used to describe the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
State television showed images of the immediate aftermath. In it, paramedics could be seen helping someone in military fatigues laying on the ground. Other armed security personnel shouted at each other in front of what appeared to be a viewing stand for the parade.
Ahvaz is the capital of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province. The province in the past has seen Arab separatists attack oil pipelines.
In a #terrorist attack in the city of #Ahvaz, southwest of #Iran, some armed men started shooting at a #military parade. Some people have likely been killed & wounded. No exact number of casualties have been reported.
— Abas Aslani (@AbasAslani) September 22, 2018
