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2022 Shah Cheragh attack

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Shah Cheragh massacre
LocationShiraz, Iran
Date26 October 2022 (2022-10-26)
Deaths15+
Injured40+
PerpetratorsDisputed, Islamic State claimed responsibility.[1]
No. of participants
3 armed gunmen, two of whom were captured

On 26 October 2022, at least 15 people were killed in a mass shooting at Shah Cheragh mosque, a Shia pilgrimage site in Shiraz in southern Iran. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Background

Iran is a Shia Islamic theocracy[2][3] that has has suffered from terrorist attacks by Sunni Islamists and separatists.[4][5][6] During the late 2010s and early 2020s, there have been major protests about various issues, which escalated in September 2022 due to the death in police custody of Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini, whom they arrested for wearing her hijab incorrectly.[7]

Attack

On 26 October 2022, at least 15 people were killed in a mass shooting at Shah Cheragh mausoleum in Shiraz, Fars province, Iran.[8] The three attackers are described by Iranian state media as apparently being takfiri terrorists. Two attackers have been arrested; the other is at large. Later the same day, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.[9] The Iranian authorities claimed that the attackers were not Iranian nationals.[10] Iranian semi official Tasnim news agency stated that children are among the dead.[10]

Responsibility

The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack[9] via Amaq, the group's propaganda media.[11] According to Voice of America Persian News Network, some Iranian protestors speculated that this terrorist attack was a conspiracy of the Iranian government to divert public opinion from Iran's nationwide protests.[12]

According to the Institute for the Study of War, it is likely that the Iranian government will exploit the massacre to deflate the protests, and use it to redirect "public attention away from the protests and channel anger toward foreign adversaries such as the Islamic State and Saudi Arabia".[13]

Casualties

Fifteen people were killed as a result of the shooting attack[14] including women and children.[10]

Reactions

The United Nations Secretary-General strongly condemned the terrorist assault on the Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine in Shiraz, Iran, claimed by the Islamic State. The message said that targeting religious places is heinous and the Secretary-General emphasized "bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime against civilians exercising their right to practice their religion." Also, the Secretary-General expressed his condolences to the bereaved families, the Iranian people, and the Iranian government wished a swift recovery for the injured.[15]

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi blamed the Mahsa Amini protests for paving the ground for the attack on the mausoleum.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Fifteen dead in Iran attack on Shiite shrine". France 24. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  2. ^ Shia Islam and Politics: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.
  3. ^ "The Beginning of the End of the Islamic Republic". Foreign Affairs. 2022-10-21. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  4. ^ "Iran / Mashhad Bombing | Vanderbilt Television News Archive". tvnews.vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  5. ^ Human Rights Watch Report, `Afghanistan, the massacre in Mazar-e-Sharif`, November 1998.
  6. ^ Segall, Michael (24 July 2016). "Ethnic Opposition to Iran's Regime Is on the Rise". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
  7. ^ "The protest videos Iran doesn't want the world to see". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  8. ^ "Fifteen killed in attack on Shia mausoleum in southern Iran". BBC News. 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  9. ^ a b "Attack on Shiraz shrine kills 15: Iranian state media". Aljazeera. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  10. ^ a b c "Iran: gunmen kill at least 15 people at Shia shrine in Shiraz". the Guardian. 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  11. ^ "Several people killed as gunmen open fire at shrine in Iran's Shiraz". France 24. 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  12. ^ "حمله مسلحانه به شاه‌چراغ؛ منابع رسمی: ۱۵ تن کشته شدند؛ تردید کاربران در صحت روایت حکومتی". Voice of America (in Persian). 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  13. ^ https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-crisis-update-october-26
  14. ^ Hafezi, Parisa (2022-10-27). "Islamic State claims Iran shrine attack, Iran vows response". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  15. ^ "Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General - on attack at Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine in Shiraz, Iran | United Nations Secretary-General". www.un.org. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  16. ^ Hafezi, Parisa (2022-10-27). "Islamic State claims Iran shrine attack, Iran vows response". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
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