Monday, January 22, 2024

Iranian Soldier opens fire on fellow soldiers, killing 5

 

An Iranian soldier opened fire on fellow soldiers on Sunday, killing five of them in the southeastern city of Kerman, The Associated Press reported, citing Iranian state TV.

State TV said the shooting happened when the soldier arrived at a barracks dormitory and opened fire on the resting soldiers. It said the motive was not immediately clear and the suspect, who wasn’t identified, was at large. No other details were released.

The attack took place in Kerman, some 830 kilometers southeast of the capital Tehran, which was the scene of two deadly explosions earlier this month that killed 94 people and wounded hundreds more.

The explosions took place during an anniversary ceremony for the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was eliminated in a US drone strike in Iraq in January of 2020.

The Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the deadly twin blasts. US intelligence later confirmed that ISIS’ Afghanistan-based branch was behind the attack.

AP noted that similar shootings at military bases have been occasionally reported in Iran. In 2022, a soldier killed another soldier and three policemen at a roadside police station in the country’s south.

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