Several killed in separate incidents in Iran on day marred by violence

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Two people were shot dead Wednesday in Iran’s central city of Isfahan, hours after five people were killed in an armed attack in the country’s southwest.

The latest incident took place around 9.00 p.m. local time (1730GMT) in the Khane Esfahan area of the city when two motorcycle riders armed with assault rifles opened fire at security forces, according to local reports.

The two slain men were both paramilitary voluntary Basij personnel, identified as 54-year-old Mohsen Hamidi and 30-year-old Mohammad Hossein Karimi.

At least eight others were also injured in the attack, seven of them law enforcement personnel and one paramilitary Basiji.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi extended condolences to the families of the victims and asked the security agencies to "immediately identify the perpetrators and leaders of the terrorist incident and hand them over to the judicial system," his office said.

Meanwhile, according to Iran's state broadcaster, quoting local officials, at least three people were also killed in Semirom, another city in Isfahan province, on Wednesday during fierce clashes. Many others were also injured.

In another similar incident Wednesday evening, at least five people were killed and 15 others injured after motorcycle-borne armed men opened fire at a busy market in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

Among the dead were an elderly woman and a child. At least two others are said to be in critical condition.

A religious seminary was also set ablaze by unknown men in the main market of the city.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks.

It comes amid sweeping protests triggered by the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran’s morality police in mid-September.

This week, a call had been given by anti-government protesters for a three-day shutdown across the country, which notably received a lukewarm response.

So far, Iran’s judiciary has sentenced five people to death for their involvement in the months-long protests and fatal attacks on security forces.