At least 15 people were killed and 40 others were injured Wednesday in a “terrorist attack” at the Shahcheragh Shrine in the city of Shiraz, southern Iran, according to Iranian officials.
Varying details have been reported by officials and sources after early investigations. According to the local police chief, there was one gunman who attacked the shrine and had been arrested, while news agencies reported three gunmen involved in the attack.
The attackers were in a car and shot at pilgrims and staff at the entrance to the shrine of Shah Cheragh, the official news agency of the country quoted witnesses as saying. Police detained two of the three “terrorists” and were looking for the third.
The news agency described the assailants as “takfiri terrorists”, a label used by authorities in predominantly Shia Muslim Iran to refer to hardline, armed Sunni groups. However, another media group, affiliated with Iran’s top security agency, said the attackers were not foreign nationals.
ISIS claims responsibility for the attack
The terror group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing a statement through its affiliated Amaq news agency. ISIS said in the statement that one of its members had “targeted groups of Sunni refusal infidels inside the shrine with his machine gun, causing the death of tens of them.”
President Raisi links “riots” to the Shrine attack
President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi has said that “riots” pave the way for “terror” attacks.
“The intention of the enemy is to disrupt the country’s progress, and then these riots pave the ground for terrorist acts,” he remarked while talking to reporters on Thursday, in an apparent attempt to link the shrine attack to ongoing anti-government protests in the country.
Social media footages showed thousands of Iranians marching towards the graveyard where Amini is buried despite the heavy presence of riot police.
Activists had called for processions across the country to mark 40 days since she died after being imprisoned for “inappropriate attire”.