Iran Video: Gunman opens fire on demonstrators, crowd fights back

An amateur video apparently taken with a cell phone has surfaced on YouTube that appears to contradict the Iranian government’s claim that its security forces didn't shoot at protesters last Sunday during demonstrations that left at least eight people dead, including the nephew of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

As first reported by The Los Angeles Times on Saturday, the video not only shows a gunman opening fire on demonstrators - it also gives an eye-opening look at a growing air of defiance by Iranian opposition.

A man in plain clothes is seen and heard opening fire on the crowd as another man can be heard shouting out "Dishonorable Basiji!" blaming a member of Iran's Basij militia for firing the shots.

With shots fired, you would expect the demonstrators to flee and seek cover, but instead, they decide to fight back.

"Attack!" someone in the crowd calls out, and the crowd runs off in pursuit of the gunman as the video, less than a minute in length comes to an end.

One of the earliest casualties in Iran's post-election violence in 2009 was a young woman named Neda Agha-Soltan, who was named 'Woman of the Year' by a British newspaper recently.

The following YouTube video was uploaded on January 1, 2010: