Eight killed in clashes over Iranian poll results

Eight people have died in clashes with police in two towns in southern Iran over disputed parliamentary election results, officials said on ...

Eight people have died in clashes with police in two towns in southern Iran over disputed parliamentary election results, officials said on Sunday.

Four died in the town of Firouzabad in Fars province, in protests on Saturday when the governor’s office declared an unexpectedly high turnout in a tight race between a reformist and an Islamic conservative candidate. ‘‘People were calling for a recount to stop any possibility of vote-rigging,’’ an official, who declined to be named, said.

Another four were killed in the southwestern Khuzestan province when police clashed with a group protesting about election results in Izeh, the ISNA students news agency reported, citing an unnamed local official. The protestors had tried to storm the governor’s office and attacked government and judiciary buildings, the official said.

In Firouzabad, a crowd of several hundred grew angry after one protestor was shot and wounded by police. They began damaging police cars and attacking government buildings and in subsequent clashes ‘‘unfortunately three civilians and one policeman were killed on Saturday morning’’, the local official said.