25 dead, scores injured in attack on military parade in Iran

Gunmen killed at least 25 people and wounded 60 Saturday in an attack on a military parade in a restive Iranian province that is home to most of the country’s Arab minority, state media said.

The Islamic Republic News Agency reported the casualty figures at the parade in Ahvaz in southwestern Iran, and added that, with many of the wounded in critical condition, the death toll was expected to rise.

The dead and injured were a mix of members of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and civilian onlookers, semiofficial news agencies reported. They included families that had gathered to watch the annual military parade.

The reports said that there were four gunmen wearing military uniforms and that security forces had killed two and captured the other two.

Some officials blamed the assault on Arab separatists, according to the news reports. State television described the attackers as “takfiri,” a term often used to describe Islamic State fighters. Both the Islamic State and a separatist group, Al Ahwaz, claimed responsibility.

Videos and photographs posted online reportedly showed the attack and its aftermath — civilians and soldiers dropping to the pavement, shouting and running for cover as gunfire crackled in the background, and later carrying away wounded and bleeding survivors, including children.

Several military parades were taking place across the country simultaneously Saturday to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the 1980-88 war with Iraq.

President Hassan Rouhani vowed to investigate and hold those responsible accountable in a message issued through state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. Through the same news outlet, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, offered his condolences to the families of the dead while accusing the United States of involvement in the attack.