At least five killed, 15 wounded in shooting in southern Iran

Tehran, Nov 16 (EFE).- At least five people were killed and 15 wounded Wednesday in a shooting attack in the southern Iranian city of Ize, Iran’s state media reported.

Gunmen riding motorcycles opened fire on passers-by and police officers in the central market of Ize, in Khuzestan province, according to the official IRNA news agency.

“A terrorist group used a protest rally” to carry out the attack, according to the state agency, which offered no further details of the attack.

Among the five killed was a child, according to ISNA, a news agency run by university students.

In late October, another shooting attack took place at a mausoleum in the city of Shiraz, in which 15 people were killed.

Iranian authorities arrested 26 nationals from Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan for their alleged involvement in that attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State (IS).

The shooting comes amid protests that have rocked Iran since the death on September 16 of Masha Amini, after she was arrested three days earlier by the morality police for allegedly wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly.

The unrest has intensified the last two days with demonstrations and strikes to commemorate the 2019 protests caused by a fuel price hike in which 300 people died, according to Amnesty International.

So far five people have been sentenced to death for their participation in the protests, while some 2,000 have been charged with various crimes for demonstrating.

In addition, at least 326, including 43 minors, have been killed in the police crackdown, according to the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights.

The protests are mainly led by young people and women shouting “woman, life, freedom”, chanting slogans against the government and burning veils, one of the symbols of the Islamic Republic, which was unthinkable until recently. EFE

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