Gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Iran’s Parliament and the shrine of its revolutionary leader on Wednesday, killing at least 12 persons, wounding dozens and igniting an hours-long siege at the legislature that ended with four attackers dead.
The Islamic State claimed the attacks, marking the first time the Sunni extremists have taken responsibility for an assault in the Shia-majority Iran. The militants are at war with Iranian-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, and view Shia as apostates.
Smoke emanating from the Iran Parliament building after a suicide bombing on Wednesday.
In a message posted through its Aamaq news agency, the IS group claimed its fighters were behind the assaults.
The attacks began midmorning when the assailants, armed with Kalashnikovs, stormed the Parliament building. One of them later blew himself up inside, where a session was on, according to a statement carried by Iran’s state TV.
An Associated Press reporter saw several police snipers on the rooftops of buildings around Parliament. Shops in the area were shuttered, and gunfire could be heard. Witnesses said the attackers were shooting from the fourth floor of the Parliament building down at people on the streets below.
“I was passing by one of the streets. I thought that children were playing with fireworks, but I realized people are hiding and lying down on the streets,” Ebrahim Ghanimi, who was around the Parliament building when the assailants stormed in, told AP. “With the help of a taxi driver, I reached a nearby alley.”
Police helicopters circled over the Parliament building and all mobile phone lines from inside were disconnected. ISNA news agency said all entrance and exit gates of Parliament were closed and that lawmakers and reporters were ordered to remain in place inside the chamber.
Soon after the attack, a suicide bomber and other assailants targeted the shrine located just outside Tehran, according to Iran’s official state broadcaster. It said a security guard was killed and that one of the attackers was killed by security guards. A woman was also arrested.
In addition to being lethal, the attack on the shrine of Khomeini is symbolically significant. As Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Khomeini is a towering figure in the country and was its revolutionary leader in the 1979 ouster of Shah.
The unusual attacks in Iran prompted the Interior Ministry to call for an urgent security meeting, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. Officials urged people to avoid using public transportation until further notice.
