Iran rebels say 2 fighters die in clashes
Ali
May 24, 2001
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) -- Iran's main rebel group, the
People's Mujahideen, said two of their fighters were killed in clashes
on Thursday with Iranian security forces.
The Iraq-based group said in a statement sent to Reuters in Dubai that
dozens of government troops had also been killed or wounded in heavy
clashes in the western province of Ilam.
The reported clashes, which came ahead of Iran's presidential
elections on June 8, followed an attack by the heavily armed rebels on
military and security installations in Iran's Abdanan, Darreh Shahr
and Dehloran regions near the Iraqi border.
The Mujahideen, who are fighting to topple Iran's Islamic government,
also said they had fired rockets at a compound housing the ministry of
defense in the capital Tehran late on Wednesday and caused heavy
damage.
There was no immediate official confirmation of either attack.
The Mujahideen say they have carried out more than 70 attacks inside
Iran in the past three months, but few of them could be independently
verified and some turned out to be minor operations.
Iran last month launched dozens of missiles at Mujahideen bases inside
Iraq and threatened more attacks unless the rebels stopped military
operations against Tehran.