Iran arrests ISIL-linked group planning attacks

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Iranian security forces have arrested members of a group linked to ISIL which had planned bombings and suicide attacks in religious centers, the country's state television reported on Saturday.

Intelligence Ministry agents were able to arrest the members of the group linked to ISIL, according to the report. It added that authorities seized explosive and suicide attack equipment, three assault rifles, a machine-gun equipped with a silencer and three suicide belts.

It did not say how many militants were held.

Police officers control the scene around Iran's parliament building after an attack in Tehran, Iran, on June 7, 2017. /VCG Photo

The arrests came days after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired missiles into eastern Syria, with the aim of hitting ISIL positions. The jihadist group claimed responsibility for the twin attacks that killed 18 people in Tehran on June 7.

Iranian authorities have carried out several operations in Iran on groups suspected to be linked with ISIL, detaining dozens of people, since that attack.

(With inputs from Reuters)