More than 20 Iranian and Afghan “elements” of the Islamic State group (IS or ISIS), have been arrested in Mashhad, in the north east of the country, says the deputy prosecutor general in Mashhad.
In an interview with a local daily Khorasan, on Thursday July 6, Deputy Prosecutor Hassan Heydari declared that the detainees had entered Iran using fake documents.
“They entered Iran after completing training courses for military, suicidal actions and had already declared their pledge of allegiance to IS leaders,” Heydari told Khorasan.
Some of the detainees had earlier participated in IS actions and operations outside Iran, Haydari added without elaborating.
“During the interrogation,” the deputy noted, “it was revealed that the detainees intended to participate in different operations, including suicidal and ‘inghimas’ attacks in Iran.”
The Arabic word "inghimas" literally means "diving or jumping into something or somewhere". According to reports, it’s a term used by IS for operations where attackers open fire randomly, killing and wounding as many as they can. When the perpetrators run out of bullets and are on the verge of being captured, they detonate their explosive belts. In a nutshell, "inghimas" combines a hybrid approach of simultaneous shooting and suicide bombing.
The twin and almost simultaneous terrorist attacks on the Majlis, the Iranian parliament, and Khomeyni’s mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday June 7 have also been described as "inghimas" operations.
The attacks left 17 dead and more than 50 people wounded.
“Sixty terrorist groups have entered Iran, so far,” said Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, acting chief commander of the Iranian Army, on July 5. “Nevertheless, none of them have succeeded.” Pourdastan did not give further details.
Before and after the June attacks in Tehran, various Iranian officials have made numerous claims of arresting jihadists and breaking up terror cells, but they have almost never produced hard evidence to prove their claims. No public trials have taken place or verifiable images released.
