Twelve people were killed in twin attacks on Iran's parliament complex and the shrine of its revolutionary leader claimed by the Islamic State group on Wednesday, its emergency services chief said.
In an unusual move, the group also released a short video that it said was taken by one of the attackers inside parliament.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for both the attacks.
If confirmed, it would mark the Sunni militant group's first attack in Iran, a Shiite-majority country.
He said that one of the attackers at the shrine had been "neutralized", in addition to the suicide bomber, and that the attackers at parliament have been surrounded.
The violence unfolded at about 10 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) when gunmen apparently dressed as women stormed the main gate of the parliament building in central Tehran and opened fire. Four attackers were said to have targeted the shrine.
It marked the first time IS has claimed an attack in Iran.
"A person entered Iranian parliament today and started shooting at the guards".
"I was passing by one of the streets".
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Several gunmen and suicide bombers attacked parliament and the shrine to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, setting off an hours-long siege at the legislature that ended with four attackers dead.
A picture from semi-official Fars news agency shows a man lowering a young boy from a window of the parliament building onto the street as another man holding a gun watches over them from another window.
Two civilian visitors and one security officer were injured in the attack, reported news agency Mehr quoting MP Elias Hazrati.
Islamic State has often urged its fighters to attack Iranian targets and lambasted "heretic" Shi'ite Iran for helping the Syrian and Iraqi governments battle Islamic State, which considers Shi'ites to be infidels.
Meanwhile, the head of European Parliament Antonio Tajani said he stands in solidarity with the speaker of Iranian parliament and the Iranian people. Iranian security officials have not said who might have been behind the attacks, although state media called the assailants "terrorists".
The U.S. State Department offered condolences to victims and their families, saying in a statement, "The depravity of terrorism has no place in a peaceful, civilized world".
It is now unclear how the attacker or attackers entered the parliament building, which has multiple security checkpoints.
United Arab Emirates also condemned the attacks.





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