At least 15 people were killed Wednesday in an attack on a key Shiite Muslim shrine in southern Iran, state media said, with the Islamic State group claiming the assault.
The attack carried out by an armed “terrorist” during evening prayers at the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the city of Shiraz also wounded at least 19 people, state television said.
Earlier reports said 13 people were killed and 40 wounded, and that three assailants were involved.
Local judiciary chief Kazem Mousavi told state television that “only one terrorist was involved in this attack.”
The assailant “fired indiscriminately on worshippers” gathered at the shrine, local governor Mohammad-Hadi Imanieh told the broadcaster.
A witness told state news agency IRNA he “heard the cries of women” as evening prayers started, and that the “assailant entered the shrine and opened fire.”
Iranian media published images and video footage showing bloodied bodies covered in cloth lying inside the shrine.
IRNA carried a picture of a boy on a stretcher and another of a woman holding a child, with traces of blood on the ground.
Iran’s Fars news agency said a woman and two children were among those killed.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Shah Cheragh mausoleum is home to the tomb of Ahmad, brother of Imam Reza – the eighth Shiite imam – and is considered the holiest site in southern Iran.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi vowed “a severe response.”
He also condemned “the enemies of Iran” who attempt to “divide the united ranks of the nation… through violence and terror,” in a statement released by his office.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Shah Cheragh Holy Shrine”, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.
“Such acts targeting religious sites are especially heinous,” it added.
“The Secretary-General stresses the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime against civilians exercising their right to practice their religion.”
Wednesday’s attack comes as Iran has been rocked by street protests since the death of Mahsa Amini last month after she was arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Dozens of people, mainly protesters but also members of the security forces, have been killed during the unrest. Hundreds more, including women, have been arrested.
State television reported one arrest over the shrine attack and said that the assailant was “a terrorist affiliated with takfiri groups.”
The term takfiri in Iran and in several other countries refers to radical Sunni Islamist groups.
