At least 19 killed in Iran mosque blast
Dozens wounded in explosion; local official calls blast a terror attack
An explosion in a mosque killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens near Iran's volatile border with Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday. A local official said it was a terrorist attack.
An unconfirmed eyewitness report said the explosion was the result of a suicide bombing. A short while later, security forces discovered another explosive device and dismantled it.
The blast went off in Zahedan, the capital of a lawless province in southeast Iran that frequently witnesses clashes between police and gangs involved in drug smuggling. It has also seen attacks by an Islamic militant group called Jundallah, which claims to be fighting for rights of Sunni Muslims in mainly Shiite Iran but is suspected of al-Qaida links.
Alaeddin Mazari, a local journalist in Zahedan, told The Associated Press that the explosion occurred in the second biggest Shiite Muslim mosque in the city, some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Ali Mohammad Azad, the governor of Sistan-Baluchistan province where Zahedan is the capital, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency the explosion happened at 7:45 pm and said a terrorist was involved, but didn't provide further details. He told state television that he detained some suspects who planned additional attacks ahead of the June 12 presidential election.
In 2007, Jundallah, or God's Brigade, killed 11 members of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards in Zahedan.
The state news agency said 80 people were injured in Thursday's explosion and no group had taken responsibility. It quoted an unidentified official as saying part of the mosque was destroyed and rescue teams were transferring the injured and the bodies of the dead.
The attack occurred less than a week after the presidents of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan met in Tehran and reaffirmed their commitment to work together to fight terrorism and drug trafficking in the region.
