Report: Four Dead in Iran Mall Explosions

Two Bombs Explode at Iran Shopping Mall, Report Says; 4 Killed, at Least 102 Others Injured

Two bombs planted inside trash bins exploded Saturday at a shopping mall near the Iraqi border that was previously targeted by extremists, killing four people and wounding at least 102, Iranian state television reported.
The explosions struck a shopping center in central Ahvaz, the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province. Shops in Naderi street and cars outside were damaged. Some of the injured were in critical condition, the broadcast said, showing pools of blood on the pavement.
Provincial official Gholam Reza Shariati said the bombs were planted inside two trash bins. He said the number of injured was high because the attacks occurred during the evening rush hour as pedestrians returned home from work.State television said the bombs went off five minutes apart at the Karoun Mall, the site of four bombings in June that killed at least eight people.
Iranian security officials blamed those attacks the deadliest in the nation in more than a decade on Iranian Arab extremists with ties to foreign governments, including British intelligence.
In recent weeks, Iran repeatedly has accused Britain of provoking unrest in the Khuzestan province, next to the region in Iraq where 8,500 British soldiers are based as part of the U.S.-led military coalition. ....