ISIS gunmen kill at least 15 people at a Shiite holy site in Iran

Middle East, News October 27, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Gunmen attacked a major Shiite holy site in the Iranian city of Shiraz on October 26, 2022, killing at least 15 people, including two children, while injuring dozens. The militant group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Iranian officials claim that the gunmen have been captured. The state-owned media announced that the attack was carried out by the “takfiri terrorists”, a term used by Tehran to describe hardliner Sunni militants including ISIS.

The attack was carried out at a mosque adjacent to the shrine of Shah Cheragh, one of the holiest sites in Iran. Country’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi blamed the nationwide anti-government protests for taking away the administration’s attention and paving grounds for the attack in Shiraz.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also released a statement regarding the attack. He vowed that Iran would respond to the attacks. His statement was released through state media in which he said that “Experience shows that Iran’s enemies, after failing to create a split in the nation’s united ranks, take revenge through violence and terror.”

Raisi further added that “This crime will definitely not go unanswered, and the security and law enforcement forces will teach a lesson to those who designed and carried out the attack.”

Shiraz is one of the most popular sites for pilgrimage and religious tourism. It is rare for Iran and especially for Iranian holy sites to experience such attacks. the last such attack to take place in the city of Shiraz took place in April 2008, when a bomb planted in a mosque killed 14 people.

The attack comes at a time when the Iranian administration is dealing with nationwide protests that started after the death of a 22-year-old Iranian girl named Mahsa Amini. At the time of the attack in Shiraz, protesters elsewhere in Iran marked symbolic 40 days since the woman’s death in custody. The demonstrations have become one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.

*^{A view of the Shah Cheragh Shrine after an attack in Shiraz, Iran on October 26, 2022. (Image Credit: Reuters)}*

On October 26, 2022, at least 10,000 people gathered at the cemetery in Tehran to participate in Mahsa’s memorial ceremony. Videos on social media showed crowds packing streets in many cities and the bazaars of Tehran and some other cities shut down with people chanting anti-government slogans.

Several cities have also reported clashes between the protesters and riot police. According to some independent human rights groups, at least 250 people have been killed in the protests.

Iranian authorities have been accusing the United States and other Western countries of fomenting the riots and unrest in their country. There are no official figures about the death toll but state media have said around 30 members of the security forces have been killed in the protests.