Attackers bomb Iran parliament and mausoleum, at least 12 dead

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Iran's parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on the morning of June 7, killing at least 12 people in a twin assault claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The jihadist group released a video purporting to show gunmen inside the parliament building and one man, who appeared wounded, on the floor. 

The rare attacks were the first claimed by the hardline ISIL inside the Shiite Muslim country. 

Iran is one of the powers leading the fight against ISIL in Syria and neighboring Iraq.

The attacks began midmorning when assailants armed with Kalashnikov rifles stormed the parliament building. One of the attackers later blew himself up inside, where a session had been in progress, according to a statement carried by Iran's state TV.

Attackers dressed as women burst through parliament's main entrance in central Tehran, deputy interior minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

"One of them was shot dead and another one detonated his suicide vest," he said. 

About five hours after the first reports, Iranian news agencies said four people who had attacked parliament were dead and the incident was over.

At least 12 people were killed by the attackers, the head of Iran's emergency department, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB.

"I was inside the parliament when shooting happened. Everyone was shocked and scared. I saw two men shooting randomly," said one journalist at the scene, who asked not to be named.

Soon after the assault on parliament, another bomber detonated a suicide vest near the shrine of the Republic's revered founder,...