Iran’s Semnan province was target of foiled terrorist attack, official says

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Counterterrorism operations in Iran over the past few months have foiled planned attacks by the Daesh Takfiri group in different parts of the country, including the central province of Semnan, the province’s governor announced.

According to Mohammad Reza Khabbaz, elements affiliated with the Daesh terrorist group had planned attacks in Semnan Province but their plot was foiled.

On June 20, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced in a statement that its agents thwarted a major plot by the Takfiri-Wahhabi groups for a series of bombing raids across the country during religious events in the holy month of Ramadan.

Later, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alawi said a series of operations to arrest the terrorists had begun on June 14 and continued until June 20.

According to the minister, 10 Takfiri-Wahhabi terrorists were arrested in Tehran and three border and central provinces of the country, saying they had masterminded different operations including planting bombs, detonation of remote control bombs, suicide attacks, and blowing up explosive-laden vehicles.

The terrorists wanted to carry out bombing raids in crowded locations, and had located 50 targets, the minister explained, saying they had even prepared the explosive material for some of the attacks and were preparing or receiving some for the others.

Alawi said 100 kilograms of explosive material -ready for blast- and precursor chemical compounds were confiscated in the operations, and the intelligence activities also blocked delivery of 2 tons of explosive materials to the terrorists.