Authorities in Iran have confirmed that at least 5.000 people have been killed in protests in the country, including about 500 members of the security forces, an official said, blaming "terrorists and armed rioters" for the killings of "innocent Iranians."
The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, also told Reuters that some of the fiercest fighting and the highest number of casualties had occurred in Iran's Kurdish regions in the northwest of the country, a region where Kurdish separatists are active and where outbreaks of violence in previous periods of unrest have been among the bloodiest.
"The final toll is not expected to rise sharply," the official said, adding that "Israel and armed groups from abroad" were supporting and arming those who took to the streets, Reuters reports.
Iranian authorities regularly blame the unrest on foreign enemies, including Israel, a sworn opponent of the Islamic Republic, which carried out military strikes on Iran in June last year.
The US-based human rights group HRANA said yesterday that the death toll had reached 3.308, with 4.382 cases under investigation. The group said it had confirmed more than 24.000 arrests.
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