Tehran, London: Twelve people were killed in twin attacks on Iran's parliament complex and the shrine of its revolutionary leader claimed by Daesh group on Wednesday, its emergency services chief said.
A total of 39 people were wounded in the two attacks, and rescue operations are continuing, Pir Hossein Kolivand said.
Attackers raided Iran’s parliament and opened fire at the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini a few kilometers south of the capital on Wednesday morning, in near simultaneous assaults, local media reported.
Daesh, the so-called Islamic State, immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, Reuters quoted the group's state news agency AMAQ.
"Fighters from (Daesh) attacked Khomeini's shrine and the Iranian parliament in Tehran," the news agency said.
Iran’s intelligence ministry, meanwhile, has said it foiled another terrorist plot, according to state TV channel IRIB.
The head of the anti-terrorism department in the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said they have foiled another terrorist plot and have arrested "a terrorist team", state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Advice to public
Iran's intelligence ministry has also asked people to avoid public transport, according to IRIB.
Tasmin news agency said there were unconfirmed reports that the attackers had taken four hostages inside the parliament building.
Three assailants, one with a pistol and two with AK-47 assault rifles, carried out the attack in central Tehran, lawmaker Elias Hazrati told state television.
Another lawmaker said one of the assailants was surrounded by security forces and all the doors to the building had been closed, ISNA news agency reported.
The attackers killed seven people and wounded several others, Tasmin said.
"I was inside the parliament when shooting happened. Everyone was shocked and scared. I saw two men shooting randomly," said one journalist at the scene, who asked not to be named.
Around half an hour later, an attacker opened fire at the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini, injuring several members of the public, Iran's English-language Press TV said.
State news agency IRNA quoted an official at the mausoleum as saying the attacker had set off a suicide bomb after shooting at people.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini launched the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Iranian TV said parliament had resumed, and broadcast footage of what it said was the opening session proceeding normal
Earlier report
A female suicide bomber reportedly detonated explosives at the tomb of Iranian revolutionary founder Ruhollah Khomeini in southern Tehran, news agency ISNA reported on Wednesday.
State TV earlier reported that four "terrorists", including a suicide bomber, has attacked the shrine.
A security guard was killed when gunmen burst into Tehran's parliam ent complex, while a gardener was killed when armed assailants entered the grounds of Khomeini's mausoleum in the south of the city, the ISNA news agency reported.
Two attacks
Two attacks involving several gunmen and a suicide bomber have rocked the Iranian capital Tehran, the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on Wednesday.
DPA reported that at least three attackers stormed the Iranian parliament in the centre of the city, but the gunmen have not yet been arrested.
A Twitter feed by a state broadcaster reported that three people were injured, as it posted video and pictures from the scene.
DPA also cited the Iranian news agency ISNA saying that men with machine guns had forced their way inside the building.
Another simultaneous shooting and reported suicide attack took place at the tomb of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, in southern Tehran, the agency added.
