41 Revolutionary Guards members killed in attack

BLAST COMES AMID 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF IRAN REVOLUTION

Bomber driving a car full of explosives detonates it near a bus carrying Iran’s elite force

Asuicide bomber killed 41 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on a bus in a restive region of southeast Iran yesterday, Iranian media reported. It was among the deadliest attacks in Iran in years.

The Revolutionary Guards quickly blamed the United States for the assault, which came during the week that Iran’s leaders have been celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the shah in 1979.

The Revolutionary Guards did not explain precisely how the United States could have been involved in the attack.

“In this suicide attack a car filled with explosives blew up beside a bus carrying a unit of the Guards ground forces causing the martyrdom and wounding of a number of the protectors of our Islamic homeland’s border.”

Dispatches by the official Islamic Republic News Agency and the Fars News Agency said the victims had been travelling between the cities of Zahedan and Khash near the Pakistan border, a haven for militant separatist groups and drug smugglers.

After initially reporting that at least 20 people had died in the attack, with an additional 20 wounded, Fars updated the death toll to at least 41 — suggesting that everyone on the bus had been killed.

Car full of explosives

Fars said a bomber driving a car full of explosives on a highway had detonated it near the bus, and a video posted on the agency’s website showed what it said were the charred remains of the bus.

On the social messaging app Telegram, a militant group called Jaish Al Adl claimed responsibility for the attack, but officials did not confirm that the group was involved.

A statement issued by the Revolutionary Guards said the bus had been “carrying the warriors of Islam soldiers who were returning from the region to their cities after completing their border mission.”

While the United States and Israel have accused Iran of fomenting terrorism in the Middle East, Iran itself has also been the target of terrorist attacks in the 40 years since the Islamic Revolution.

In September, gunmen killed at least 25 people and wounded 60 in an assault on a military parade.

AFP The wreckage of the bus that was reportedly blown up in a suicide attack in southeastern Iran yesterday. A militant group called Jaish Al Adl claimed responsibility.