TEHRAN, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - A suicide bomber killed at least five senior Revolutionary Guards commanders and 29 other people in one of the deadliest attacks on Iran's elite military institution, local media reported on Sunday.
The attack, which occurred early on Sunday in the Pishin district of Sistan-Baluchistan province in the country's volatile southeast near the border with Pakistan, also injured at least 28 people. The attack was launched as officers were preparing to stage a meeting between tribal leaders from Shia and Sunni communities, the media said.
Two high-ranking commanders among those dead included the deputy head of the Guards' ground forces, General Nourali Shoushtari, and the Guards' commander in Sistan-Baluchistan province, General Mohammadzadeh, the media reported.
The Revolutionary Guards is an elite force fiercely loyal to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said that the U.S. action contributed to the attack.
"We consider this recent terrorist act to be the result of the U.S. actions and this is a sign of their enmity," he was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying.
