Update 3 - Iran: 11 Soldiers Killed İn Attack On Military March

At least 11 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were killed and 30 people injured on Saturday in an armed attack targeting a military march in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahwaz, local media reported.



A woman and a child were among the injured, Iran's official news agency (IRNA) reported without providing further details.



Iranian local media reported that gunmen wearing military uniforms fired at the Iranian forces during a military parade, an attack that lasted for about 10 minutes.



Four or five terrorists were gunned down by police, IRNA reported.



"Terrorists recruited, trained, armed & paid by a foreign regime have attacked Ahvaz. Children and journos among casualties. Iran holds regional terror sponsors and their US masters accountable for such attacks. Iran will respond swiftly and decisively in defense of Iranian lives," tweeted Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.



According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) spokesman Ramezan Sharif said "The attack by some elements of al-Ahvaziya group which is fed by Saudi Arabia, aimed to overshadow the magnificence of the parade by the Iranian armed forces."



Over the attack, Iranian authorities "temporally" shut down two border crossings with Iraq, according to Iraqi customs official.



The two border crossings of Shalamjah border crossing (adjacent to Iraq's Basra governorate) and Al-Shib border crossing (adjacent to Iraq's Maysan governorate) were closed, Iraqi customs official told Anadolu Agency on phone anonymously due to restrictions to speak to media.



The move come against the background of the Ahvaz attack, the source said, adding that, the Iranian authorities have taken strict security measures on its side of the border. -