18 Guard members killed in Iran base blast Tuesday

AP: Iran’s state news agency says 18 members of the powerful Revolutionary Guard force were killed in Tuesday’s explosion at a military base in the country’s northwest.

The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state news agency says 18 members of the powerful Revolutionary Guard force were killed in Tuesday’s explosion at a military base in the country’s northwest.

IRNA’s report on Wednesday says 14 other troops were wounded in the blast and taken to hospitals in Khoramabad, some 300 miles (500 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Tehran.

The agency says the cause of Tuesday’s explosion was a fire that spread to the ammunition depot.

Iran’s remote northwestern border region has witnessed several attacks in recent months by Kurds disgruntled with the central government.