Death toll from SE Iran blasts hits 27

Press TV, Friday, 16 July 2010, 07:32:30 GMT

The death toll from the twin bomb blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan has reached 27 while more than ten times as many have been injured.

The late July 15 blasts hit outside the city's Grand Mosque, leaving widespread devastations in its trail, IRNA reported on Friday.

The two explosions that took place in front of the mosque on also ripped through nearby shops.

The first explosion occurred at 9:20 p.m. local time (1650 GMT) and was followed by a second blast within minutes, local officials said Thursday.

Emergency efforts are underway to help those injured.

It is widely believed that hard-liner trained by the CIA in Pakistan are the main elements behind the bombings.

GHN/MGH

'West, Israel linked to SE Iran blasts'

Press TV, Friday, 16 July 2010, 06:23:50 GMT

A ranking official with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has implicated "the US, Israel and some European countries" in the deadly blasts in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan.

Yadollah Javani, the head of IRGC's political bureau, said late Thursday that the latest terrorist attack in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan points to the involvement of terrorist groups under the auspices of the United States, Israel and some Western countries, which seek sectarian division, Fars news agency reported.

Two explosions in the front of Zahedan's Grand Mosque on Thursday left more than 20 martyrs and over 100 injured.

The first explosion occurred at 9:20 p.m. local time (1650 GMT) in front of the city's Grand Mosque, and was followed by a second blast within minutes.

"The enemy seeks out division between Shia and Sunni Muslims in order to create chaos in the country," Javani noted.

"One could not doubt the involvement of secret foreign services in the efforts to generate tension amongst Muslims," he further explained.

The Iranian official also noted that confessions made by Abdolmalek Rigi, the Pakistan-based Jundallah terrorist group's ringleader, before his execution last month, unveiled widespread US support for waging an insurgency against the Islamic Republic.

"Rigi's confessions prove that the US, Zionists and some European countries are directly linked with the Zahedan blasts, because he had confessed that the US wants bomb attacks to be carried out across Iran," he said.

After Rigi's execution, Jundallah was effectively disbanded and experts say that the group is highly unlikely to have carried out the latest blasts.

It is widely believed that hard-liners trained by the CIA in Pakistan are the main elements behind the bombings.

GHN/HRF/MGH

AFP, Jul 16, 2010

WASHINGTON -

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned Thursday's 'horrific' attacks on a Shi'ite mosque in Iran that killed more than 20 people, and called for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

'I condemn in the strongest possible terms today's terrorist attacks claimed by Jundallah that targeted Iranians at a mosque in the Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran,' Clinton said in a statement.

'The United States extends its sympathy to the families and loved ones of those injured and killed. We also call for the perpetrators of this horrific attack to be held accountable for their actions,' she said.

'This attack, along with the recent attacks in Uganda, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Algeria, underscores the global community's need to work together to combat terrorist organizations that threaten the lives of innocent civilians all around the world.'

Iranian state media reported that more than 20 people, including worshippers and members of the Revolutionary Guards, were killed by two suicide bombings at a Shiite mosque in heavily Sunni south-east Iran. The attack came as people celebrated the birthday of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, a day also set apart each year to honour the Revolutionary Guards.

More than 100 people were wounded in the attacks, which came only minutes apart, at the Jamia mosque in the restive city of Zahedan, capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. Zahedan has been repeatedly hit by attacks blamed on Sunni rebel group Jundallah (Soldiers of God), which plays on feelings of resentment among ethnic Baluchis in the province. -- AFP