The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, IRGC announced on Wednesday, September 13, it has arrested a member of Islamic State (IS) and foiled a plan for suicide attacks.

IRGC Colonel Amin Yamini, the commander for the western Tehran suburb of Shahriar, said the attacks were being planned for the 10-day Ashura rituals that begins on September 22.

Col. Yamini also maintained that the detainee is the member was from the Syrian branch of IS and valuable information has been obtained through his confessions and from his cell phone.

“The detainee is a member of ‘Ajnad ash-Sham’ (Syrian Soldiers), a branch of IS. He was planning to organize 300 terrorists to carry out suicide attacks for the 10-day Ashura rituals (10-day mourning for Shi’a third Imam, Hussain ibn Ali”, Colonel Yamini said.

Elaborating further, Col. Yamin explained, “The detainee infiltrated Iran and, on his way, stayed the night in Shahr-i Rey’s Dolatabad, 20th district of municipal Tehran. Later, he was caught in ‘Andisheh’ district in Shahriar”.

Col. Yamini referred to ‘Ajnad ash-Sham’ as a branch of IS, whereas the group is a subdivision of ‘Jaish al-Fatah’.

According to Yamini, the Guards [disguised as elements loyal to IS] tracked the Islamic State organizer, who had a cell phone and satellite phone, and set up a meeting with him in the western Tehran suburb of Andisheh. When the person showed up, he was arrested, Reuters reported.

On June 7, IS militants attacked the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic, ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran, killing 18 people and wounding more than forty.

Tehran has blamed Riyadh for being behind the deadly twin attacks. Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps fired several missiles at Islamic State bases in Syria on June 18 in response to that attack.