Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Two Bombs Explode in Iran, Wounding Four | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

TEHRAN, Iran, AP -Two grenades exploded Monday in a southwestern Iranian province known for unrest among its Arab population, wounding at least four people, the official Iranian news agency reported.

The grenades went off in restrooms in local government offices in Abadan and Dezful in Khuzestan province, the Islamic Republic News Agency said, citing official sources.

The agency described the blasts as “terrorist acts,” saying they wounded two people in each town.

Oil-rich Khuzestan has a history of violence involving members of Iran’s Arab minority. Several bombs exploded in the provincial capital of Ahvaz in January and last year.

An Iranian Arab insurgent group, the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, claimed responsibility for the Jan. 24 blasts, which killed six people and wounded 46. The Iranian government blamed the bombings on Britain and United States, which denied any involvement.

Britain has 8,500 troops in southern Iraq, across the border from Khuzestan, serving in the U.S.-led multinational force.

Last year, bombings in June and October killed a total of 14 people in Ahvaz.