Iranian commanders assassinated

[Watchman]

Iranian commanders assassinated

Gen Shooshtari was deputy commander of the ground force

Several top commanders in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have been killed in a suicide bombing in the volatile south-east of the country.

Iranian interior ministry said 29 people died in the attack, in the Pishin region of Sistan-Baluchistan, and at least 28 were injured.

Shia and Sunni tribal leaders were also killed. A Sunni resistance group, Jandullah, said they carried it out.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said "US action" contributed to the attack.

Sistan-Baluchistan is mainly made up of the Baluchi ethnic group, who belong to the Sunni Muslim minority of Shia-ruled Iran.
SISTAN-BALUCHISTAN ATTACKS
May 2009 A bomb explodes at a mosque in the provincial capital Zahedan, killing 19 and injuring 60.
February 2007 Suspected militants killed 11, including Iranian Revolutionary Guards, in a bomb attack in the provincial capital Zahedan.
March 2006 Gunmen posing as police kill 22 people, many government employees, after closing the Zabol-Zahedan road.


Jundallah has previously been accused by Iran of terrorist activities in the province.

"Very soon we will catch the perpetrators of this terrorist action and punish them," a statement on the interior ministry's website said, according to AFP news agency.

One report said there were two bombs - one inside the meeting and one aimed at a convoy of guards just arriving.