Last year’s attack, for which two people convicted of being linked with ISIL were executed, left 13 dead and 40 injured
Emergency personnel transport the injured following a shooting attack at Iran’s Shah Cheragh shrine in the Fars province capital Shiraz [Mohammadreza Dehdari/ISNA/AFP]
Tehran, Iran – A holy shrine in Iran’s southern city of Shiraz has come under a second deadly attack in less than a year with another gunman breaking into its grounds and opening fire.
Yadollah Bouali, the provincial commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told state media that one shooter entered the Shah Cheragh shrine through its southern gate on Sunday at 7pm (15:30 GMT) to carry out a “terrorist” operation, revising earlier reports indicating two shooters.
The assailant, who was arrested at the scene, shot four people killing one, he said, adding the shooter carried an assault rifle and eight magazines with 240 bullets, 11 of which he managed to get off before being subdued.
A blood-stained cloth lies on the ground at the site of the shooting attack [Mohammadreza Dehdari/ISNA/AFP]
At the time, a lone gunman entered the shrine with an automatic rifle, shooting a group of pilgrims and staff. Authorities said the gunman killed 13 people and injured 40 others before being killed by security forces.
The ISIL (ISIS) armed group released a video through its Amaq website and took responsibility for the attack.
Iranian authorities, who blamed “riots” backed by foreign powers for undermining the country’s security, said at the time that the unrest paved the way for the Shah Cheragh attack to take place.
