Gunmen attack Iran's parliament, Khomeini shrine
At least 12 dead in
attacks on parliament and Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, as ISIL
claims responsibility
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| Suicide bombers and gunmen stormed into Iran''s parliament and targeted the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini [AP] |
Gunmen and suicide bombers have attacked Iran's parliament in central
Tehran and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in south of the city,
killing at least 12 people and wounding 39, officials said.
Four armed
assailants attacked parliament office buildings on Wednesday morning, while the
shrine of revolutionary founder Ruhollah Khomeini was struck by a female
suicide bomber, state media reported.
One of the
attackers on Iran's parliament complex blew himself up on the fourth floor amid
an ongoing siege, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
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Lawmaker Elias Hazrati told state television that three
attackers, one with a pistol and two with AK-47 assault rifles, raided office
buildings at the parliament complex.
ISNA news agency quoted a member of the parliament as saying
that all the parliament doors were shut and access to the complex was sealed by
police.
"There is panic going through the streets of the
capital right now because of the attacks. There is chaos inside the
parliament," Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons said.
"It is very likely that these attacks were coordinated.
It's hardly a coincidence that it happened within minutes of each other."
ISIL claim
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known
as ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the attacks via its online
forum.
"Fighters from the Islamic State (ISIL) attacked the
Khomeini mausoleum and the parliament building in Tehran," the Amaq agency
said, citing a "security source".
ISIL later posted a video which showed what it claims is
footage from inside the parliament building where a wounded man is seen on the
floor bleeding.
It marks the first major attack of the group inside Iran.
The attack on the shrine of Khomeini is symbolically
stunning. As Iran's first Supreme Leader, Khomeini is a towering figure in the
country and was its revolutionary leader in the 1979 ouster of the shah.
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