Tehran, SPA — At least eight people were killed and 36 others injured Sunday in four bomb explosions that targeted government buildings and officials in southwestern Iran, state-run television reported.At least four women were among those killed in the explosions in Ahvaz, capital of the southwestern Khuzestanprovince which borders Iraq.The blasts were the deadliest explosions in Iran in more than a decade.

Gholamreza Shariati, deputy provincial governor for security affairs, said perpetrators were seeking to undermine public participation in Friday”s presidential elections. Television footage showed heavily damaged buildings and blood on the ground. The force of the explosions also damaged many cars in the streets.

Shariati said 36 people, including eight police officers, were injured.Following the first three blasts, experts had tried to defuse a fourth bomb but failed, and it exploded, injuring one of them.

The explosions follow recent violent protests in Ahvaz over alleged plans to alter the proportion of Arabs and non-Arabs in the region, according to a report of the Associated Press.