1 dead, 8 injured in Iran shrine attack

TEHRAN, Iran

At least one person was killed and eight others injured on Sunday in an attack on a shrine in Iran's southern city of Shiraz, local officials said.

Two armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire at the entrance of the Shah Cheragh shrine resulting in the death of a guard, the governor's office and shrine officials told state-run IRIB news.

The attackers were foreign nationals, reported Nour News, which is affiliated with Iran's top security body, citing an unnamed source.

One of the assailants carrying a Kalashnikov was apprehended, while the other managed to flee, the source added.

Earlier on Sunday, state news agency IRNA, said four people were killed in the attack.

Iran's state TV cited BBC as saying that ISIS/Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.

Gen. Bo Ali, the Revolutionary Guard commander in Fars province of which Shiraz is capital, told state TV that the assailant who was taken into custody was carrying a rifle and eight magazines, adding that the situation is currently under control.

President Ebrahim Raisi has asked the Interior Ministry and the provincial governor's office to "quickly identify all the perpetrators" of the attack, state media said.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi instructed the provincial governor of Fars to investigate "the terrorist incident."

The national security commission of the Iranian parliament will also be investigating the attack on Monday, the commission spokesman was quoted as saying, adding that the report will be made public soon.

​​​​​​2nd attack on shrine

The 12th-century shrine, which houses the grave of a revered Shia scholar, is a popular destination for local and foreign tourists.

Last October, at least 13 people were killed and 40 others injured after an armed man opened an indiscriminate fire inside the shrine.

It was the first major attack in Iran claimed by ISIS/Daesh since 2017, when five armed men attacked the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the country’s founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, in Tehran.

In July, Iranian judicial authorities publicly executed two men over involvement in the attack.​​​​​​​