Three explosions jolt southern Iran - agency
Source: Reuters
(Adds local journalist quote) TEHRAN, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Three strong explosions jolted southern Iran on Thursday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, but it was not clear if there were any casualties. The cause of the explosions in Khorramshahr in the province of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq, was not clear, but a local journalist said they were controlled explosions to destroy land mines left in the area since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. "The governor's office informed people on Wednesday night that mine-sweeping activities will take place on Thursday," the journalist with Iran's state television told Reuters. An Oil Ministry official said the explosions occurred far away from any oil facilities in Khuzestan, the heartland of Iran's oil industry, where small bombs damaged 15 pipelines and one oil well in September 2005. Khuzestan has been simmering with unrest among the province's mostly Arab population for more than a year. Slightly more than half of Iran's 69 million people are Persians and the rest are ethnic Azeris, Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Baluchis and Lors. About 3 percent are Arabs and authorities are sensitive about protests and discontent in the southwestern Arab territories.
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