Iran’s Shiraz shrine comes under second deadly attack in months | News

Final 12 months’s assault, for which two folks convicted of being linked with ISIL had been executed, left 13 useless and 40 injured.

Tehran, Iran – A holy shrine in Iran’s southern metropolis of Shiraz has come beneath a second lethal assault in lower than a 12 months with one other gunman breaking into its grounds and opening fireplace.

Yadollah Bouali, the provincial commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), informed state media that one shooter entered the Shah Cheragh shrine by way of its southern gate on Sunday at 7pm (15:30 GMT) to hold out a “terrorist” operation, revising earlier studies indicating two shooters.

The assailant, who was arrested on the scene, shot 4 folks killing one, he stated, including the shooter carried an assault rifle and eight magazines with 240 bullets, 11 of which he managed to get off earlier than being subdued.

Movies on-line confirmed folks working in panic exterior the shrine and shutting down their outlets. Photos confirmed bullet holes in partitions and home windows and blood on the bottom.

The shrine, situated within the province of Fars and one of the crucial necessary in Shia Islam, was hit by an analogous assault on October 26, 2022.

On the time, a lone gunman entered the shrine with an automated rifle, shooting a group of pilgrims and staff. Authorities stated the gunman killed 13 folks and injured 40 others earlier than being killed by safety forces.

The ISIL (ISIS) armed group launched a video by way of its Amaq web site and took accountability for the assault.

The group was additionally accountable for coordinated 2017 assaults on the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of former Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran.

In early June, Iran executed two men stated to have been involved with ISIL operatives in neighbouring Afghanistan who offered the gunman with the rifle and took him to the location of the taking pictures.

Three extra males had been additionally tried and given jail sentences starting from 5 to 25 years for working with the armed group.

Final 12 months’s assault on the shrine additionally got here as Iran was rocked by nationwide protests that began in September 2022 following the demise in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for alleged noncompliance with the nation’s necessary gown code for ladies.

It occurred 40 days after Amini’s demise, when thousands gathered to mark the event in her hometown in northwestern Iran.

Iranian authorities, who blamed “riots” backed by foreign powers for undermining the nation’s safety, stated on the time that the unrest paved the way in which for the Shah Cheragh assault to happen.