Islamic State releases alleged proof of attack on Iran’s Ahvaz

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Islamic State (IS) on Sunday released a video portraying three men in a vehicle who were allegedly on their way to attack a military parade in Iran’s Khuzestan province, which resulted in the death of at least 25 individuals.

With a military parade in Khuzestan’s city of Ahvaz on Saturday, Iran marked the start of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war that began after Baghdad attempted to annex the province, seeing as it was rich in oil and home to a significant Arab population.

During the event, four men dressed in military uniform opened fire on marching soldiers and civilians, killing at least 25 people, nearly half of whom were members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

After the incident, IS published a statement on their propaganda website, Amaq agency, and claimed responsibility for the attack. A day later, they posted the video as alleged proof.

In the video, two men wearing military uniforms speak in Arabic about ‘carrying out jihad’ and the third, in Persian, purportedly about the impending attack.

"#داعش" ينشر فيديو لثلاثة يظهر 3 أشخاص يرتدون زياً عسكرياً ويقولون إنهم في طريقهم لتنفيذ هجوم #الأهوازhttps://t.co/YRqO3UQBaZ#ISIS #Ahvaz #Iran pic.twitter.com/r0nzLUQm0u

— nbnlebanon (@nbntweets) September 23, 2018

However, before IS’ initial statement on the attack, the Ahvaz National Resistance, an Arab opposition movement to Tehran, claimed they were behind the attack. The group represents a community that has “long been neglected by the central government” and has poorer living standards in comparison to the rest of Iran. 

The attack was one of the worst in the army’s history and prompted immediate outbursts by Tehran and the IRGC, who blamed neighboring Gulf countries, the United States, and Israel.

Editing by Nadia Riva