IS suspect of Ahvaz attack killed in Iraq, says Tehran

IS suspect of Ahvaz attack killed in Iraq, says Tehran
Abu Zahi was killed along with "four other terrorists" by Iranian militias operating in Iraq's Diyalah province, according to a statement from the Revolutionary Guards.
1 min read
17 October, 2018
Thousands of people gather for the funeral of those killed in the Ahvaz attack [Getty]
A suspect of a deadly attack last month in southern Iran was killed in Iraq on Tuesday, Tehran's elite Revolutionary Guards said.

Abu Zahi, reportedly a member of the Islamic State group, was killed along with "four other terrorists", a statement said.

The five were killed "during a reconnaissance and surprise operation by forces of the resistance this morning in Iraq's Diyalah province," northeast of Baghdad, it added.

The "resistance" is a term used for militias operating in Iraq and Syria with Tehran's support, and trained by the Revolutionary Guards.

Abu Zahi was "the mastermind of the recent terrorist crime in Ahvaz," the statement added.

The attack on a military parade in the mainly ethnic Arab city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran left 24 people dead last month.

Claims of responsibility for that attack were posted by both the jihadists of the Islamic State group and by a separatist group calling itself Ahvaz National Resistance.

On 1 October, Iran said it had struck jihadists in Syria with ballistic missiles and combat drones in retaliation for the September attack. On Monady, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Iran has carried out 700 drone strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria.