Five people were arrested on suspicion of involving in a car
bomb attack in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan on Wednesday
morning which killed at least 11, the official IRNA news agency
reported.
"Five people suspected of involvement in the huge blast had been
arrested," said Soltan-Ali Mir, director-general for political
affairs in office of Sistan-Baluchestan province's governor.
Soltan-Ali Mir was quoted as saying that "two of the five
suspects were arrested with the help of pedestrians who tipped the
police."
Several hand-grenades and a video camera were seized from the
two armed men and the three other suspects were arrested hours ago,
he added.
An explosive-laden car exploded as a bus, belonging to ground
forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), passed by, killing at
least 11 people, IRNA said, adding that it was not clear if those
killed were members of the IRGC guards.
The explosion occurred around 6:30 AM (03:00 GMT) in Ahmadabad
district on the outskirts of Zahedan, capital city of
Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Earlier, some reports said that 18 people were killed in the
blast and some said eight. Due to disordered statistics, the exact
casualty number was still uncertain yet.
The state-run television reported that the bus was carrying the
guards personnel when the attack occurred. Footage showed that the
bus had been blown down into a contorted frame of wreckage.
According to a witness, the explosive-laden car parked on the
side of a road. Armed men in two motorcycles opened fire at the
moving IRGC bus as it approached the car and they set off the
bomb.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack
but Hossein Ali Shahriyari, a lawmaker representing Zahedan,
accused "insurgents and drug traffickers" of being behind the
attack, blaming the security forces and policy for not carrying out
their responsibilities.
Sistan-Baluchestan province borders both Afghanistan and
Pakistan. Iranian security forces usually clash with local armed
groups involved in drug smuggling.
Sistan-Baluchestan and its close province of Kerman have been
hit by a string of attacks and kidnappings in the past years, which
the Iranian authorities blamed on a Sunni group called
Jundallah.
Earlier this year, four members of Iranian security forces were
killed in Zahedan when armed men opened fire at their vehicle.
(Xinhua News Agency February 15, 2007)
