- The attack kills 15 or more persons.
- The victims were shot at by the attackers.
- Police apprehended two of the terrorists.
On the 40th anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s murder in captivity, armed men attacked a Shia shrine in Shiraz, killing at least 15, according to state news agency IRNA.
According to witnesses quoted by the news agency, the attackers, who were in a car, started fire on guests and employees at the Shah Cheragh shrine’s entrance. Police caught two of the three “terrorists,” and were looking for the third.
the semi-official Tasnim news agency, several women and children were among those killed.
According to a witness, the attack happened on the same day that Iranian security forces opened fire on mourners in Saqez, Amini’s hometown in Iran’s Kurdish area.
According to the witness, “riot police shot mourners who had gathered at the cemetery for Mahsa’s mourning service…dozens had been arrested.” The Iranian administration declined to react.
Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency, 10,000 people had gathered around the cemetery, and security personnel and demonstrators had battled, cutting off internet connection.
Despite the heavy police presence, social media images showed thousands of Iranians making their way to the cemetery where Amini is buried. Activists planned demonstrations across the country to commemorate the 40 days after her death after being detained for “inappropriate dress.”
The death of the 22-year-old while being imprisoned by Iran’s morality police on September 16 ignited protests that have evolved into one of the most daring threats to the clerical government since the 1979 revolution.
Many Iranians have taken to the streets, with some calling for the fall of the Islamic Republic.
a witness, men and women have gathered around Amini’s grave in Saqez’s Aichi cemetery, singing “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Another witness in Saqez claimed that riot police and Basij militia volunteers were there in significant numbers in the cemetery.
However, individuals from all around Kurdistan are present. We are all grieving together over Mahsa’s passing away.
According to rights organisations, security personnel warned her family not to stage a memorial march or “their son will be arrested,” fearing that the 40-day anniversary of Amini’s death might inspire more violent protests.
However, Kurdistan’s governor, Zarei Kusha, told state media that the state had no limits on holding a memorial event and that “it was the family’s decision not to host a gathering.”
