Iran: Bomb kills 6 in ethnically troubled region

Tehran, 24 Jan. (AKI) - At least six people were killed in a double bomb explosion in Iran's south-western city of Ahvaz on Tuesday, Iranian state television reported. An undisclosed number of people were wounded in the blasts which damaged a state environmental agency and a bank in the city which is the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province.

Ahvaz was hit by a wave of bomb attacks in June and October last year that the government blamed on Iranian Arab extremists whom it claimed were being supported by foreign governments, such as Britain. The October bombings killed six people and those in June killed at least eight people.

In recent weeks, Iran has repeatedly accused Britain of provoking unrest in the Khuzestan province, which borders that part of Iraq where 8,500 British soldiers are based as part of the United States-led military coalition.

Britain has denied any involvement in the disturbances in Khuzestan.