AFP, Tehran, 12 Nov 2011 – The death toll of a massive explosion which hit a Revolutionary Guards base in the west of the Iranian capital on Saturday has risen to 27, a spokesman for the elite unit told state television.
‘Twenty-seven Guards personnel were killed in the explosion,’ commander Ramezan Sharif was quoted as saying, revising an earlier death toll of 15.
The explosion hit an ammunition depot at the base in Bid Ganeh, near the town of Malard on the western outskirts of Tehran, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the city centre, according to media reports.
At least 23 others were injured in the blast, Mehr news agency reported quoting an emergency official.