At least eight people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in an explosion in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, Iranian media reports say. The blast occurred in a mosque in the city either during or after evening prayers, the reports said.| Fars said the mosque is the site of weekly speech about extremist Wahabi beliefs and the outlawed Bahai faith. |
Iran's Fars news agency was quoted as saying that the explosion was caused by a bomb. It said at least three of the wounded were seriously hurt. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. Fars said the death toll was expected to climb.
Shiraz is a major tourist destination because of its closeness to a number of important ancient sites. Deadly bomb attacks are unusual in Iran. The last major bombing was by suspected Sunni rebels in the south-eastern city of Zahedan in February last year. Thirteen members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed in that blast, which was caused by a car bomb. |