“Ten people have been killed and 160 wounded in an explosion at a mosque in southern Iran, local media reports say.
Authorities in the city of Shiraz were investigating the blast, which some early reports had blamed on a bomb.
But a local police chief told Fars news agency that he had ruled out sabotage, and that “negligence” involving old war munitions might be the cause.
The explosion occurred at around 2100 (1630 GMT) on Saturday and was heard a mile (1.5km) away, the agency reported. “The incident could have happened as a result of negligence. A while ago at this site there was an exhibition commemorating the [1980-1988] Iran-Iraq war,” Commander Ali Moayeri, police chief of Fars province, told Fars news agency.”
“Most of those inside the Hoseyniyeh Shohada mosque when the explosion took place were young boys and girls affiliated to the Rahpoyan-e Vesal Association, which “holds weekly meetings every Saturday regarding misguided groups, including Wahhabis and Bahais”, Fars said.”
“The last major bombing, in the south-eastern city of Zahedan in February last year, is believed to have been carried out by the Sunni Baluchi militant group, Jundallah.”
