Airport Security Officer Killed During Mehrababad Airport Drill
Three days after news of a “counter-terrorism operation” drill at Mehrababad Airport was announced, Iranian media reported the death of an airport security officer during the exercise, which was subsequently confirmed by the public relations office of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Protection Command.
The newspaper Qanun-e Rouz reported on Tuesday, the 6th of Tir: “Mehdi Yazdi, an airport security officer at Mehrababad Airport, who was wounded during shooting at Mehrababad, has been martyred.”
On Saturday, the 3rd of Tir, the security deputy of Tehran’s governorate announced that the “counter-terrorism operation” drill was held in Terminal Four of the airport.
Akbar Qandlu, the spokesperson for the IRGC Protection Command’s public relations, confirmed on Tuesday in an interview with the Fars News Agency the death of Pasdar Mehdi Yazdi from the airport’s security forces and stated that he had been wounded in the head during the recent security drill at Mehrababad Airport.
According to the Young Journalists Club, affiliated with state radio and television, Mohsen Hamadani, regarding the sound of gunfire heard in Terminal Four of Mehrababad Airport, said that on the morning of Saturday, the 3rd of Tir, armed forces conducted a “limited internal drill” at the airport.
The security deputy of Tehran’s governorate announced that the sound of gunshots was also related to this drill and that “there is no cause for concern whatsoever.”
According to Mr. Hamadani, following two “terrorist” incidents in Tehran, security and military forces have conducted drills, and the Saturday drill was also conducted with the aim of “increasing preparedness to counter terrorist operations” within the scope of Mehrababad Airport.
Nevertheless, until Tuesday, except for the Telegram channels of Iran Newspaper and the Young Journalists Club, no source had reported on the wounding and death of a security officer at Mehrababad Airport.
A Drill to “Test Security Forces”
According to the IRNA news agency, images and videos released by passengers and people present at the airport show that passengers and even airport staff were unaware of the drill and counter-terrorism operations being conducted, and a sense of panic had been created in one of the terminals of Mehrababad Airport.
Following this, the ISNA news agency, citing an unnamed “informed official,” announced that this action was carried out without prior announcement and “suddenly” so that “security forces could be properly tested and simulate the conditions.”
This “informed official” and the security deputy of Tehran’s governorate provided no clarification as to whether all security forces inside Terminal Four of Mehrabdat Airport were aware of the drill or not.
According to reports, Terminal Four of Mehrababad Airport is designated for domestic flight departures; however, based on information published on the airport’s flight announcement website, no flights were scheduled from this terminal on the morning of Saturday.
Since 1984, an organization called the “IRGC Air Force Protection” has been responsible for preventing aircraft hijacking and securing certain sections of Iran’s airports.
Source: Radio Farda
