Gun attack at Iranian election office injures three

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Saturday, May 30, 2009

At least three people, among them a child, have been wounded after a group of gunmen opened fire at one of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election offices.

The shooting happened in the city of Zahedan, located in southeastern Iran.

The incident occurred at approximately 19.00 IRST (UTC+3:30), the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said.

"Three knife-wielding people on motorbikes stopped outside the centre on Saadi Street, cursed, made threats and tore up billboards," said Mohammad Reza Zahed Sheikhi, the head of Ahmadinejad's Zehedan election office. When campaign members attempted to protest, "the attackers pulled out guns and shot at them", he said.

Sheikhi added that two campaign workers were wounded in the arm, stomach, and shoulders, while the child was shot in the stomach and was undergoing a surgery.

Sheikhi said that "the men ran away, but the police chased and arrested them."

The incident happened only a day after a bomb blast in the same city killed nineteen people at a Shia mosque. A group of Sunni rebels have claimed responsibility for that attack.