A suicide bomber killed at least two senior commanders of Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards
18.10.2009 16:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A suicide bomber killed at least two senior
commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the country’s southeast
Sunday during an attack in which 60 people died or were wounded,
Iranian media reported.

State television suggested that a Sunni rebel group called Jundollah
(God’s soldiers) — linked by some analysts to the Taliban — was the
likely suspect for the most severe attack on the Revolutionary Guards
in recent years.

"Attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body during gathering
of tribal heads," state Press TV said in a headline, adding that
civilians and tribal leaders were also among the victims.

The Revolutionary Guards blamed "foreign elements" linked to the
United States for the killings, which underlined deepening instability
in Iran’s southeast bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Tehran accuses the United States of backing Jundollah to create
instability in the country but Washington denies this.

State broadcaster IRIB said the attack occurred in the morning at the
gates of a conference hall in the city of Sarbaz in
Sistan-Baluchestan. The province is the scene of frequent clashes
between security forces, Sunni rebels and drug traffickers.

The two high-ranking commanders were the deputy head of the Guards’
ground forces, General Nourali Shoushtari, and the Guards’ commander
in Sistan-Baluchestan province, General Mohammadzadeh, news agencies
reported. Shoushtari was also a senior official of the Guard’s elite
Qods force, media said.

Citing authorities and experts, a presenter of English-language Press
TV said "the finger of accusation is directly pointed at the Jundollah
group," referring to ethnic Baluch Sunni insurgents who have been
blamed for previous attacks in the region, Reuters reported.