Thugs Martyr Basij Member, Injure Police Officers
TEHRAN -- Protests have turned violent in Iran’s Alborz province, where armed rioters martyred a member of the Basij volunteer force and injured at least 10 police officers on Thursday.
Official news agency IRNA said a number of rioters in Karaj tried to block one of the main roads connecting the western city to Qazvin province, creating heavy traffic.
Police and security forces intervened to disperse the rioters and reopen the road. However, the rioters tried to keep the road closed by lighting a fire and throwing rocks and construction debris at the forces.
The rioters also started destroying the road signs and provoking the public by chanting slogans.
According to IRNA, the troublemakers attacked police forces, stopping one of their cars and seriously injuring three officers.
The rioters also set fire to a police kiosk on Hesarak square in Karaj and a police van in a nearby neighborhood.
Rioters have been going on a rampage across the country, attacking security officers, resorting to vandalism against public property, and desecrating religious sanctities.
On Thursday, IRNA said unidentified armed men martyred a Shia cleric in charge of daily prayers at a mosque in Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
The news agency said the cleric, Sajjad Shahraki, had been shot in the head and chest, and had succumbed to his wounds despite being transferred to hospital.
Media reports said an extensive investigation was swiftly opened following Shahraki’s martyrdom to identify and arrest the gunmen, and unravel their motives.