TEHRAN - The main elements behind the recent bombing in Mahabad have been killed, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces Commander Mohammad Pakpour announced on Sunday.

A bombing in the northwestern city of Mahabad on Wednesday, September 22 martyred 12 women and injured around 80 other people.

“In a successful operation, the key elements behind the recent terrorist act in Mahabad were killed,” Brigadier General Pakpour said.

“The investigations showed that the Zionist regime’s spy agency Mossad was behind this terrorist act, and in collaboration with some Americans and some elements of the Iraqi Baath Party, sent a terrorist team to Iran in order to perpetrate this heinous crime,” he stated.

“After several days of diligent efforts, the IRGC forces managed to track the terrorists down and surrounded them in a border area, where they joined up with other counter-revolutionary elements. In an operation that was carried out on Saturday, many mercenaries of the global arrogance, including the key elements behind the terrorist act in Mahabad, were killed,” he explained.

“The terrorists were seeking to cross the border,” he added.

The Iranian city of Mahabad is located near the border with Turkey.