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Iran Parliament, shrine attacked, 12 killed

By The Assam Tribune

TEHRAN, June 7 - Gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Iran�s Parliament and the shrine of its revolutionary leader today, killing at least 12 people, wounding dozens and igniting hours-long siege at the legislature that ended with four attackers dead.

The Islamic State group claimed the attacks, marking the first time the Sunni extremists have taken responsibility for an assault in Shiite-majority Iran. The militants are at war with Iranian-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, and view Shiites as apostates.

The attacks began mid-morning when assailants, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, stormed the Parliament building. One of the attackers later blew himself up inside, where a session had been in progress, according to a statement carried by Iran�s state TV.

Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari told Iran�s state TV the apparently male attackers wore women�s attire. The semi-official Tasnim news agency later reported the siege had ended with four of the attackers killed.

Mizan Online, an Iranian state-run news website, said 12 people were killed and 42 wounded in the two attacks. It quoted Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of Iran�s emergency department.

The IS group�s Aamaq news agency released a 24-second video purportedly shot inside the Parliament building during the siege. The video, circulated online, shows a gunman and a bloody, lifeless body of a man lying on the ground next to a desk.

A voice on the video praises God and says in Arabic: �Do you think we will leave? We will remain, God willing.� Another voice repeats the same words. The two appeared to be parroting a slogan used by IS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, who was killed in Syria last year. � AP

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