Iran has arrested 11 people on suspicion of planning suicide bombings on behalf of the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) terrorist group and seized large quantities of explosives, local media reported on Friday.
It was the latest in a series of plots by the extremists uncovered in Iran which has been a major supporter of the campaign against them in neighboring Iraq.
“Eleven people were arrested and the terrorist group dismantled,” General Ahmad-Ali Goudarzi, who heads the security forces in the southern province of Fars, was quoted as saying.
“Dozens of cars and motorbikes, as well as 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives, were seized.”
The Mehr news agency quoted the province’s deputy governor as saying those arrested were believed to be members of ISIL.
Iran’s powerful intelligence and security service have so far managed to shield the country from similar attacks, but they have reported a marked increase in planned plots in recent months.
In June, the intelligence ministry said it had thwarted a terrorist plot to carry out dozens of bomb attacks across the capital Tehran.
On October 4, General Mohammad Pakpour, land forces commander for the elite Revolutionary Guards, said 12 “counter-revolutionary terrorists” had been killed trying to enter Iran’s western province of Kermanshah from neighboring Iraq.
Source: AFP
