Gunmen attack military parade in Iran; several dead

Several people were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire during a military parade in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz on Saturday, state television reported.

Iran was holding a number of parades in cities including the capital Tehran and the port of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf to mark the start of the country’s 1980-88 war with Iraq.

“Shooting began by several gunmen from behind the stand during the parade. There are several killed and injured,” a correspondent told state television.

State television blamed ‘takfiri elements’, a reference to Islamist militants, for the attack in Ahvaz, the centre of Khuzestan province, which has been the site of sporadic protests by Iran’s Arab minority, reports Reuters.