Following the terror attack on an Iranian military parade, the ISIS-backed Amaq News Agency released a video showing three of the four attackers said to be responsible.
The video shows three different men taking turns speaking to the camera in Arabic and Farsi, during which they provided goodbye messages, mentioned their impending death in an upcoming jihad attack, and offered praise to God, CNN reported Sunday. See the video below:
ISIS news agency Aamaq releases a video that shows three of the terrorists who
did the #Ahvaz attack talking about how happy they are about what they are about to do. #Iranpic.twitter.com/RnpzAvmb2N— Walid (@walid970721) September 23, 2018
“God willing, I’m going to die,” one man said in Farsi, citing a “very strong guerrilla operation” against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We are Muslims, they are kafirs (non-believers),” said one man, according to Haaretz. “We will destroy them with a strong and guerrilla-style attack, inshallah (God willing).”
During Iran’s military parade on Sunday, four attackers fired on a viewing stand holding a crowd of Iranian officials. The attack killed 29, including both military members and civilians. Another 70 were injured.
The video below captures the moments in which gunfire rang out, sending marching troops scattering with bystanders.
Terrorist attack on a military parade in Iran’s southern city of #Ahvaz#IranMilitaryParade pic.twitter.com/TJgZl0UTsq
— Press TV (@PressTV) September 22, 2018
Iran was carrying out its annual military parade in the city of Ahvaz, an event that marked the beginning of the 1980-1988 war between the Islamic Republic and Iraq.
The attack is reportedly among the worst ever to be carried out against the Islamic Republic. All four terrorists were killed by security forces.
Further video shows people crawling on the ground to evade the gunfire, and an intense aftermath as people begin to assess their safety and the scene of the attack.
Two different groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, while Iranian officials blame a third group.
Through a statement released to Amaq, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Their statement, however, incorrectly claimed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was present at the parade when he was in Tehran instead.
ISIS media network (al-Amaq) claims responsibility for terror attack in #Ahvaz, Iran. Their statement also falsely claims that President Rouhani was at the scene when it happened. He was at the military parade, but in Tehran. https://t.co/a7T5j8L5Ob
— Hadi Nili (@HadiNili) September 22, 2018
Additionally, Iranian-based Arab opposition group Ahvaz National Resistance claimed responsibility for the attack.
Despite the groups claiming responsibility, Iranian officials maintain that Israel and the United States are behind the attack.
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said, “These terrorists… were trained and organised by two … Gulf countries … They are not from Daesh (Islamic State) or other groups fighting (Iran’s) Islamic system … but they are linked to America and (Israel’s intelligence agency) Mossad.”
Further, Rouhani blamed “foreign mercenaries” supported by the U.S. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has denied such accusations.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) blamed the Patriotic Arab Democratic Movement in Ahwaz (PADMAZ), an accusation which the group has strongly denied. The group released a statement on their website, saying: “On behalf of #PADMAZ organization we reject all complaints and we believe that PADMAZ organization is a civil political movement and has nothing to do with what happened today in #IranMilitaryParade attack.”
While it remains unclear who is truly responsible for the attack, Iran’s civil unrest, a weakened economy, and tensions with the U.S. will likely be further strained by this incident.
