At least 15 people have been killed and 40 others injured in an attack on a Shia religious shrine in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, according to the country’s state media, IRNA.
The report said that the attack, which took place at the Shah Cheragh Shrine early on Wednesday evening, was carried out by three armed men who entered the shrine.
Two of the attackers have been caught, with one still on the run.
It is unclear who was behind the attack, but IRNA said that the attackers acted like “takfiri terrorists”, in reference to groups such as ISIL (ISIS).
Nour news, a media outlet affiliated with the Iranian state, reported that the attackers were not Iranian nationals.
Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said that the shrine was an important site for religious pilgrims.
Shiraz is a popular destination for pilgrimages and tourism, and the last such attack to take place in the city was in April 2008, when a bomb planted in a mosque killed 14 people.
“This is a very rare incident to be taking place at a very important time in Iran, when security is at high alert given the number of protests that have been taking place across the country,” Jabbari said.
The attack comes as Iran continues to face protests since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died after she was detained by the country’s morality police for wearing “improper hijab”.
Wednesday marked 40 days since Amini died, and saw thousands of people gather in Amini’s hometown in the northwest of Iran
