24 dead – death toll set to rise after Iran’s ‘terrorist’ attack – Conflicting reports about who is claiming responsibility Updated

The number of the people who were killed in the attack during the parade which was happening in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz, on Saturday morning reached 24.

Gunmen fired on a military parade in southwestern Iran on Saturday. Half of the killed are  members of the Revolutionary Guards, state news agencies reported, in one of the worst attacks ever on the elite force.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that an attack on a military parade in southwestern Iran was linked to the United States’ “allies in the region” and ordered security forces to bring the perpetrators to justice

The Iranian news agency reported this incident as a ‘terrorist’ attack. It says that with the wounded in critical condition, the death toll is expected to rise, the source said. More than 53 people were wounded in the incident and were taken to various hospitals in Ahvaz to be treated, he added.

He went on to say a number of civilians, including women and children, who were watching the military parade, were among those killed.

The terror attack took place during the parade of military units which was held on the occasion of the beginning of the Sacred Defense Week; a nationwide ceremony to mark the anniversary of Iraq’s eight years of imposed war against Iran under the country’s former dictator Saddam.

The Iranian news agency reports that the separatist and terrorist Al-Ahwaz group, affiliated to the Saudi regime, claimed responsibility for this morning terrorist attack which killed at least 10 people during the Armed Forces parade in this Persian Gulf littoral port.

Reuters say that Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack by gunmen on a military parade in southwestern Iran on Saturday, according to the group’s Amaq news agency..

Earlier:

Gunmen attacked a military parade in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz on Saturday, killing at least nine members of the elite Revolutionary Guard and wounding 20 others, state media said.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported that the wounded included a woman and a child but did not elaborate.

Earlier reports described the assailants as “Takfiri,” a term previously used to describe the Islamic State group.

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.