The Shiraz bombing was an April 12, 2008 explosion that occurred during prayers at the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada

Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in the southern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian city of

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

. Fourteen people were killed and 202 were injured.

Event

According to

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

, reports showed that the explosion occurred in the side where males were praying. Around 800 people, which were mostly youth, were gathered at the Mosque to hear sermons. The deputy governor of the province, Mohammad Reza Hadaegh, told

IRIB The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; ) or Seda va Sima () for short, formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopo ...

an investigation was under way. Iranian officials first stated that the blast was not a terrorist attack, but caused by leftover munitions that were on display in the mosque as part of an exhibition commemorating Iran's 1980–1988 war against Iraq. However, in May, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi said the blast was an act of terrorism and 12 terrorists had been arrested before attacking the Russian Consulate and religious centers in

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

. Intelligence Minister

Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i (, ; born 29 September 1956) is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of Iran. He was the minister of intelligence from 2005 to July 2009, when he wa ...

accused United States and Britain of involvement in the bombing and attempted to press charges against the two countries. In November 2008, Iran sentenced three men to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

after they were convicted of the bombing. One of these men, Mehdi Eslamian, was hanged with four others on May 9, 2010. His brother had previously been hanged for the bombing. Another defendant, German-Iranian

Jamshid Sharmahd Jamshid Sharmahd (; 23 March 1955 – 28 October 2024) was a German national and software engineer, based in Los Angeles, California. A permanent resident of the United States from 2003, Sharmahd had been targeted by the Iranian government for ...

, was convicted of involvement in the bombing in 2023 and hanged in October 2024.

Victims

List of victims

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiraz Explosion Terrorism deaths in Iran Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2006 Terrorist incidents in Iran in the 2000s Mass murder in 2008 Shiraz Mosque bombings in Iran 2000s murders in Iran 2008 murders in Asia April 2008 in Iran 2008 building bombings April 2008 crimes in Asia 21st-century mass murder in Iran History of Fars province 21st-century attacks on mosques

Event

Victims

See also

References