A report by the semi-official Mehr news agency quotes a provincial governor as saying Wednesday's attack was likely carried out by Kurdish separatists.

That report says most of the victims of the blast in the town of Mahabad were women who had gathered to watch the parade, one of several events around the country to mark the anniversary of the start of the Iran-Iraq war.

The report quotes provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Ali Nosrati as saying several people were killed and injured. He did not provide an exact number.