Obama condemns anti-gov't suicide bombing in Iran

At least 39 killed as worshipers attacked by Sunni militant group Jundallah at mosque in southwest of Islamic Republic on Shi'ite holiday;

By JPOST.COM STAFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Iranian bombing 311 AP (photo credit: AP)
Iranian bombing 311 AP
(photo credit: AP)
US President Barak Obama released a statement on Wednesday harshly criticizing the double-suicide bombing in the Iranian city of Chabahar that killed at least 39 Iranians as a "cowardly act."
"I strongly condemn the outrageous terrorist attack on a mosque in Chabahar, Iran," Obama said in the statement. He continued, "The murder of innocent civilians in their place of worship during Ashoura is a despicable offense, and those who carried it out must be held accountable.  This is a disgraceful and cowardly act."
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Obama added, "The United States stands with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured, and with the Iranian people, in the face of this injustice.
"US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton issued also issued statement on Wednesday condemning those behind the suicide bombing.
"I strongly condemn today’s terrorist attacks, claimed by Jundallah, that targeted Iranian men, women, and children worshiping at a mosque in Chabahar, Iran," Clinton said in her statement.
Clinton continued to extend her condolences to the families of those killed in the bombing and call for the terrorists responsible to be brought to justice.
"On behalf of the people of the United States, I extend condolences to the families and loved ones of all those injured and killed as they marked the eve of the last day of Ashoura.  This is yet another example of terrorists using  cowardly methods to inflict pain and fear on innocent civilians.  The perpetrators of this attack must be held to account for their actions."
The death toll in a double-suicide bombing in the Iranian border region town of Chabahar rose to 39 people Wednesday afternoon after one of those wounded in the attack died from his injuries, according to an AFP report.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up near a mosque in southeastern Iran on Wednesday, killing at 38 people instantaneously at a Shi'ite mourning ceremony, Iranian media reported.
The attack took place outside the Imam Hussein Mosque in the port city of Chahbahar, near the border with Pakistan, the official IRNA news agency said, quoting lawmaker Mohammad Yaghoub Jedgal.
The attack targeted a group of worshippers at a mourning ceremony a day before Ashoura, which commemorates the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein, one of Shi'ite Islam's most beloved saints.
One of the attackers detonated a bomb outside the mosque and the other struck from inside a crowd of worshippers, state TV reported
A third terrorist was also said to have been captured after the bomb blast, according to an AFP report citing local media sources.
The area of Iran is home to an armed Sunni militant group, Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, which has waged sporadic attacks to fight alleged discrimination against the area's Sunni minority in overwhelmingly Shi'ite Iran.
The Sunni militant group, Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, announced that it was responsible for the double suicide bombings that killed at least 38 people in southeastern Iran on Wednesday, according to AFP, based on a statement released on a website connected to the group.
The group announced that the attack was to avenge the hanging of their leader Abdolmalek Rigi. It identified the two militants behind the attack as Saiful Rahman Chabahari and Hessan Khashi.
"This operation was a revenge for the hanging of the head of the movement Abdolmalek and other members of Jundallah," the group said on its website junbish.blogspot.com..