(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Several countries and leaders joined Iran to condemn a bombing that killed at least 39 people, including women and children, injured 83 others in a Tasua ceremony on Wednesday near the Imam Hussein Mosque in Chabahar in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Jundallah -- a Pakistani-based terror group that has carried out several bombings, assassination attempts, and terrorist attacks in Iran -- claimed responsibility for the bloody attack.
Security forces arrested number of suspects in connection with the bombing, IRIB reported on Friday.
UN Stance UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is "shocked and dismayed" at the deadly suicide bomb attack on Shiite pilgrims in Iran, his spokesman said Wednesday.
"The secretary general condemns in the strongest possible terms the suicide bombing at a mosque in Chabahar, Iran, which has reportedly left scores of people dead and many more injured," the spokesman said in a statement, AFP reported. "He is shocked and dismayed by this abhorrent terrorist act directed at mourners commemorating the holy day of Ashura."
Ban expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to the Iranian government.
Obama: Attack Cowardly, Outrageous US President Barack Obama on Wednesday strongly condemned the “outrageous terrorist attack”.
“I strongly condemn the outrageous terrorist attack on a mosque in Chabahar, Iran,” Obama said in a written statement.
“The murder of innocent civilians in their place of worship during Ashura is a despicable offense, and those who carried it out must be held accountable. This is a disgraceful and cowardly act.”
Obama said such acts recognized no religious, political, or national boundaries, adding that the United States condemned terrorism wherever it occurs.
“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,” he said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also condemned the attack and extended condolences to the families of the victims.
“This is yet another example of terrorists using cowardly methods to inflict pain and fear on innocent civilians,” she said, adding the perpetrators must “be held to account” for what they did.
“The United States condemns all forms of terrorism and sectarian-driven violence, wherever it occurs, and we stand with the victims of these abhorrent and reprehensible acts,” she said.
Particularly Odious France condemned the “particularly odious” suicide bombing on Wednesday. France shared in Iran’s grief after it “was again plunged into mourning by particularly odious terrorism which targeted a place of worship during the ceremony of Ashura,” foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.
British Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said Wednesday he was “appalled” to hear about the suicide bombing of a religious procession in Iran, saying London “strongly condemns this atrocity”.
Brutality The Spanish government also denounced the terrorist attack.
“The government of Spain emphatically condemns the brutal terrorist attack that took place on Wednesday in Chabahar, causing such a high number of deaths and injuries,” the Spanish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The European country also conveyed its sincerest condolences and solidarity to the victims of the deadly attack and their families.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced its readiness to join Iran in its fight against terrorism. “Russia condemns the inhuman crime of the extremists and expresses the assurance that destructive forces will be unable to destabilize the country,” a statement by the ministry said Thursday.
“The event proves the need for mounting international efforts in the suppression of the terrorist threat, in which the Russian Federation is ready for close interaction with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” AFP quoted the statement as saying.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sympathized with the victims of the attack, urging Muslims to strengthen their brotherhood by avoiding differences and promoting unity.
“Killing innocent people is a shameful crime, be it for whatever reason, such as religion, ideology or ethnicity,” Erdogan said, according to Hurriyet daily.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik offered his country’s sympathy to the families of the victims of the Wednesday bombing.
Secretary General of Organization Islamic Conference (OIC) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu condemned the horrendous suicide bomb attack.
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah also offered his condolences to Iran over the Chabahar attack.
In an address to hundreds and thousands of Lebanese during a ceremony Thursday marking the religious occasion of Ashura, Nasrallah expressed his condolences to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the Iranian government and people, IRNA reported.
Iraq Offer Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Al-Bolani Friday offered Tehran his ministry’s support and experience in fighting terror.
Bolani, who is hoping to keep his job when Prime Minister-designate Nuri Al-Maliki names his cabinet in the coming days, said his country had been on the “frontline” in the battle against terrorism for several years, and that the Iraqi people sympathized with Iran, AFP reported.
“We have always been on the frontline of the fight against terrorists in past years,” he said in a statement to the press. “The Iraqi people have tasted that bitterness, which makes them sympathize with Iran and stand side-by-side in this crisis.”
“My ministry expresses its readiness to present its support and experience in the field of fighting terrorism, and all possible means to break the back of terrorism in the future.” Though violence has been on the decline in Iraq in recent months, it remains high by international standards.
The death toll from violence in Iraq in November was the lowest in a year for the second month running, with 171 people still killed in attacks.
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