7 killed, 4 taken hostage in attack on Iranian parliament - UPDATED,VIDEO,PHOTOS

  07 June 2017    Read: 3546
7 killed, 4 taken hostage in attack on Iranian parliament - UPDATED,VIDEO,PHOTOS
Meanwhile, one person killed as suicide bomber, three other terrorists hit Khomeini’s tomb in an apparent coordinated attack
Two people were confirmed killed and several others were reported injured after armed men burst into Tehran’s parliament building and the mausoleum of revolutionary founder Ruhollah Khomeini on Wednesday, with state media reporting at least one suicide bombing.

Citing unconfirmed reports, the Mehr news agency said seven people were killed in parliament and four were being held hostage. One of the terrorists later blew himself up, the Iranian intelligence minister said.

One security guard was confirmed killed during an exchange of gunfire in a corridor of the parliament, and several people were injured.

“There were three attackers armed with two Kalashnikov rifles and one colt pistol,” MP Elyas Hazrati was quoted as telling Iran’s IRIB news agency regarding the parliament attack.

There were conflicting reports from inside the parliament complex, with some reports saying the situation had been brought under control, while others said the shooting was continuing, with the buildings under lockdown.



ISNA reported that the shooters had been surrounded but had yet to be arrested.

An Iranian-based correspondent for the news agency Bloomberg tweeted that one of the gunmen had managed to escape from the parliament building and was shooting in the streets close by.

Meanwhile, an apparently coordinated attack by four terrorists, one of them a suicide bomber, took place at the tomb of Khomeini in southern Tehran, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the parliament building.

An armed attacker entered at the western entrance of the mausoleum and opened fire before blowing herself up with a suicide vest, the site’s head of public relations Ali Khalili told the IRNA news agency. A gardener was reportedly killed.



A second attacker, also a woman, who was equipped with six grenades, was killed by security guards, while a third committed suicide by swallowing cyanide. The fourth attacker was reportedly arrested.

The ILNA news agency said five people were injured by gunfire there, while other reports put that figure as high as eight.

Shiite Iran has been singled out as a target by Sunni jihadists, including the Islamic State group, but has largely escaped attacks within its urban centers.

Iran, and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, provides key ground forces against rebel groups in Syria and Iraq.

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12:04

Unconfirmed reports say seven people were killed in Iran's parliament shooting, while four people have been taken hostage, Tasnim news agency reported.





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10:37

At least two people were wounded in an ongoing shooting inside the Iranian parliament, according to local media.

An ongoing shooting by three gunmen inside the Iranian parliament has left two injured, Iran's media reported Wednesday.

"Three attackers inside #Iran 's Parliament; 2 injured so far; fire exchanges continue," the Tasnim news service said on its Twitter account.

Hostages are held inside the Iranian parliament amid an ongoing shooting.

"Reports said some people held hostage in #Iran 's parliament; fire exchanges going on," the Tasnim news service said on its Twitter account.



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