Details on Mashhad explosion announced

A day after an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in Iran’s northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province, a provincial official offers more details on the incident.

“Last night’s explosion was planned by three boys of about 18 years of age that had adventurous attitudes,” said Amirollah Shamaqdari, an official of the province’s office of the governor general, quoted by the Mehr News Agency on Sunday.

An IED was detonated near the governor general’s office in downtown holy city of Mashhad Saturday night, leaving one person, the bomber, dead.

The youth in possession of the IED apparently detonated his explosives after security forces detected something suspicious about the individual and began their approach towards him.

The attacker was critically injured in the explosion and was taken to a hospital, where he died hours later.

Shamaqdari said the bomber has been identified and added, “The three youths had neither political inclination nor an intention to carry out an operation.”

He said that they chose the site of the blast “at random”.

No other injuries or damages where reported in the blast.