Military base attack: 17 killed in Iran arms depot blast

Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, a Guards commander was killed when ammunition being moved to an appropriate site blew up.

TEHRAN: A massive explosion at a Revolutionary Guards base just west of the Iranian capital killed 17 members of the elite force on Saturday, officials said.

The death toll was initially mis-reported, however, the spokesman for the elite force told state television that the figure was 17, correcting a previous figure of 27.

“Unfortunately the fax that I received from the site of the incident was not legible, and the figure 27 was announced, whereas the number of martyrs stands at 17,” commander Ramezan Sharif said.

The explosion hit an ammunition depot at the base in Bid Ganeh, near the town of Malard on the western outskirts of Tehran, according to media reports.

It shattered the windows of residential neighbourhoods in the western suburbs of Tehran, witnesses told AFP.

“Initial investigations show the blast occurred as ammunition was being moved,” Sharif said earlier.

The deputy head of the national security commission, Esmaeel Kosari, said parliament would open a probe into the blast.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2011.