Press TV- A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the readiness of Iran's security forces at the Parliament and the Mausoleum of the late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini foiled the mission of Daesh terrorists in the Iranian capital.
Ali Asghar Gorjizadeh, the commander of IRGCs Ansar-ol-Mahdi Corps, which is responsible for protection of senior Iranian officials, said in a televised interview on Saturday that from the very first moments after the twin terrorist attacks, members of the Ansar-ol-Mahdi Corps took measures to encounter the terrorists.
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Smoke is seen during a terrorist attack at the Parliament's building in central Tehran, Iran, on June 7, 2017. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)[/caption]At least 17 people were killed and over 50 others injured in Tehran on Wednesday when gunmen mounted almost simultaneous assaults on Irans Parliament and the Mausoleum of the late Founder of the Islamic RepublicImam Khomeini.
The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assaults.
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Women are seen inside the Parliament during a terrorist attack in central Tehran, Iran, on June 7, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)[/caption]Gorjizadeh said the terrorist incidents in Tehran showed the ignominyof the terrorists mission, on the one hand, and the greatness of the Islamic establishment and the Iranian security forces, on the other.
He added that the terrorists entered the Parliaments public reception halland launched their operations there at a time whenIranian lawmakers were holding an open session, but the prudenceof Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani prevented the closure of the session, which continued in peace.
There was only one security control there because it isa place where ordinary people come and go without there being too stringent security measures, Gorjizadeh said, adding that a group of operativesbrutally enteringthe area and openingfire on security forces at the first step and then randomly shooting people wasan ignoble deed.
The work to confront these terrorists was somehow complicated due to the presenceof a large number of ordinary people and Majlis (Parliament) employees, but our forces succeeded in evacuating some 150 individuals completely safely through variousexitssuch as windows and in other ways, the IRGC commander said.
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Members of Iranian forces are seen during a terrorist attack on the Parliament in central Tehran, Iran, on June 7, 2017. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)[/caption]He noted that the security forces prudently managed to divert the terrorists away from theParliaments main chamber were the open session was being held.
The terrorists went to the fourth floor and stayed there and the IRGC forces immediately moved to evacuatethe wounded people, the commander said, adding, If this had not been carried out, terrorists would have killed many of them.
They were trapped and immobilizedon the fourth floor where their ammunition ran outthanks to wisdom of the IRGCforces, Gorjizadehsaid, adding, Only few grenades and explosive belts remained for them.
The commander of the Ansar-ol-Mahdi Corps further noted that the terrorists at the Parliamentbuilding had one explosivebelt but could not use it.
One of the terrorists was killed by his own grenade which also injured another one, he said, noting that the IRGC forces then shotboth of them dead.
Gorjizadeh explained that the terrorists acted in a very brutal way, adding thatthey even shot at a woman carrying her child and indiscriminatelytargeted ordinary people but the brave and self-sacrificing measures by the IRGC forces werevery effective in preventing heavy damage.
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Iranian policemen evacuate a child from the Parliament building in Tehran on June 7, 2017 during a terrorist attack on the complex. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]Some experts say that the Daesh terrorists had originally planned to attack the main chamber of the Iranian Parliament. Once there, they likely planned to take a number of Iranian lawmakers hostage using them as leverage to extort concessions from the Islamic establishment.
However, faced with fierce resistance from Iran's security forces, which they apparently had not predicted and did not expect, the terrorists fled to other easily accessible parts of the parliament building where they were cornered and eliminatedby Iranian forces.
On Thursday, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry released the names of the five terrorists who were killed after carrying out the deadly attacks in Tehran.
On Friday, Iranians from all walks of life held a massive funeral ceremony for the victims of the terrorist incidents.
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Iranians march during the funeral for the victims of twin terrorist attacks on the Parliament building and the Mausoleum of the late Founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini, in the capital, Tehran, on June 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]Iranian Intelligence Minister MahmoudAlavisaid in a televised interview on Saturdaythat the mastermind of the Tehran terrorist attacks hadbeen killed earlier in the day.
Irans Intelligence Ministry also said in a statement on Friday that following a series of sophisticated intelligence operations and with the cooperation of the families of some of the terrorists, 41 elements of Daesh were identified and arrested before conducting any acts of terror.
It added that the terrorists were detained in the Iranian provinces of Kermanshah, Kordestan, West Azarbaijan and Tehran.
An official with the Justice Department of Irans Alborz Province, Ahmad Fazelian, also said on Saturday that eight more individuals hadbeen arrested in connection with the terrorist attacks in Tehran.
He added that the eight were accused of having provided backup for the five terrorists who carried out the attacks in Tehran.
Local police in Irans western province of Kermanshah also said that two people hadbeen arrested in connection with the double attacks, while over 90 handguns hadbeen discovered during a security operation in Ravansar County.
Meanwhile, Tehran police said the car used by the terrorists for the twin attacks was discovered on Saturday in central Tehran.
The terrorists first went by the car to Imam Khomeinis Mausoleum and after dropping two of them, went to the city center to carry out the terrorist attackon the parliament, it added.
