‘Jihadist separatists’ behind parade attack – Iranian Intelligence Ministry

Iran’s investigators have established that last week’s deadly attack on a military parade in the mainly ethnic-Arab southwestern city of Ahvaz was mounted by “jihadist separatists,” its Intelligence Ministry said on Tuesday. “The five members of a terrorist squad affiliated to jihadist separatist groups supported by Arab reactionary countries were identified,” the ministry said on its website. “The terrorists’ hideout was found and 22 people involved [in the attack] were arrested,” it said. Explosives were seized along with military and communications equipment, according to the statement. It also said that “foreign sponsors and supporters of this terrorist act have also been identified.” A total of 24 people were killed when gunmen attacked the Saturday parade in Khuzestan province, which was commemorating the start of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Khuzestan, which has a large ethnic-Arab community, was a major battleground of the war and it saw unrest in 2005 and 2011. A movement called the “Ahvaz National Resistance” and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) both claimed responsibility, AFP reports.