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Election violence kills eight in Iran

TEHRAN: Police fired at crowds of demonstrators protesting against alleged ballot rigging in two towns in southwestern Iran, killing eight and wounding scores more, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The daily Kayhan said the eight, including a young child, had been killed on Saturday in clashes with police in oil-rich Khuzestan province during protests against the results of last Friday's parliamentary election in their districts. The newspaper said an angry crowd had set fire to police cars in the town of Shush and attacked banks and public buildings. Five people including the child died in ensuing clashes with police, it said.

It reported riots had also broken out in nearby Dasht-e Azadegan after police fired into a crowd of people trying to force their way into the governor's office.

These clashes left three people dead and 10 others wounded. The protesters then attacked state buildings and staged demonstrations, the newspaper said.

The official IRNA news agency earlier said 15 people had been injured in clashes in Shush and a third town in the province. It said protesters were angry about the re-election of the incumbent, whom they accused of "vote-buying and bribery".-Reuters