Chief Element in Logistics of Shiraz Terror Attack Arrested
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Intelligence Ministry of Iran said its forces have captured the most important element that provided logistical support for a recent deadly terrorist attack on a religious site in the southern city of Shiraz.
In a statement released on Friday, the Intelligence Ministry said it has worked in close cooperation with the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization, the Police and the Judiciary to arrest a number of people in connection with the attack on the Shah-e Cheragh shrine in Shiraz that killed and injured a number of civilians on August 13.
The statement noted that the most important key element that provided logistical support for the terrorist attack, who was in Iran and was in charge of direct contact with the operational ringleader of Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) in Syria and Afghanistan, has been arrested.
Two people were killed and eight others injured in the armed terrorist attack at the Shah-e Cheragh shrine on Sunday evening.
The Shiite shrine was the scene of a similar attack by armed terrorists last year.
On October 26, 2022, an armed terrorist barged into the shrine, killing 15 pilgrims, including women and children, and injuring dozens more before he was shot and injured by security forces.
The Intelligence Ministry noted that 196 Takfiri terrorists have been captured or eliminated in the interval between the last year’s attack and the most recent incident.
It stated that the creators and sponsors of Takfiri terrorism have been frustrated by the vigilance of the Iranian security forces, so that they have changed their strategy and begun to deploy non-Iranian terrorists into the country.
All members of the terrorist team involved in the 2022 attack on Shah-e Cheragh shrine, including the elements engaged in the operation, logistics, and control of the attack were foreigners who had entered Iran just days before the operation, the ministry said.
The statement noted that a total of 26 Takfiri terrorists have been arrested in connection with the last year’s attack, all of whom are foreign nationals from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
It stated that the main assailant in the Sunday’s terrorist attack is also a man of Tajik descent that had stayed in Tajikistan, Turkey and Pakistan and had received training in Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan before being dispatched to Iran.