AHVAZ Security forces arrested members of a gang involved in bombing, the director general of the provincial information department told a press conference on Saturday. He said the gang linked with the intelligence service of a regional country was led by Mohammad Shafi Al-Hawi. 18 bombs were seized from the gang members who had already entered the province for sabotage activities, he said.

The intelligence officer said the arrested confessed to bombing several economic centers in Khuzestan Province and Tehran in the 1993-1995 period. He said the arrested also admitted that they are linked with the intelligence service of a foreign country. The officer said a fugitive spy who had escaped abroad from prison in Ahvaz along with six other inmates by disarming the prison's guard was also arrested on border line while coming back to the country.

He has been fully trained for sabotage and espionage operations during his stay abroad, he said. He said another group involved in stealing important devices from the oil wells worth over Rls. five billion were also arrested. The devices were used for controlling the pressure of the oil wells, he said. (IRNA)