Gunmen opened fire in a bazaar in the south-western Iranian city of Izeh on Wednesday, killing at least five people, including a young girl, and wounding civilians and members of the security forces, state television reported.
In a separate attack, gunmen shot dead two members of Iran’s paramilitary Basij in the central city of Isfahan, according to the state-run Irna news agency.
The gunmen were reported to be riding motorcycles in both attacks.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities issued more death sentences as protests over Mahsa Amini's death in custody entered a third month on Wednesday, with clashes reportedly claiming at least seven lives in two days.
It was not immediately clear what motivated the armed attacks or if they were linked to the protests.
Another 10 people, including security forces members, were wounded in the shooting in Izeh, according to state TV.
Valiollah Hayati, deputy governor of the Khuzestan province, told the network that a young girl and a woman were among those killed.
A report said dozens of protesters had gathered in different parts of Izeh late on Wednesday, chanting anti-government slogans and hurling rocks at police, who fired tear gas to disperse them. State-linked media also reported that someone set fire to a Shiite religious seminary.
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Iranians protest in Tehran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police in September. AP Photo -
Protests have intensified despite a vicious government crackdown that has left as many as 200 people dead, although estimates of the toll by rights groups vary. AP Photo -
At least eight members of the security forces have also been killed or wounded during the unrest and there are signs that violent resistance could be intensifying. AP Photo -
A fire burns at the office of the governor of Mahabad, in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. AFP -
Protesters gather in the a courtyard of Chitgar complex in western Tehran. AFP -
Iranian protesters continue to defy a deadly crackdown by security forces. AFP -
A woman cuts her hair at the grave site of Nika Shahkarami in the city of Khorramabad, during a reported memorial held to mark 40 days since the death of the 16-year-old. AFP -
A woman not wearing a headscarf stands on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way towards Saqez, Mahsa Amini's home town, to mark 40 days since her death in police custody. AFP -
Iranian riot police prepare to confront protesters the capital, Tehran. AFP -
Iranian protesters surge forward amid clashes with riot police in Tehran. AFP -
A crowd blocks an intersection during a protest to mark 40 days since Amini's death in custody. AP Photo -
Iranian police arrive to disperse a protest in Tehran. AP Photo -
Protesters chant at a vigil for Amini at the Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology in Tehran. Reuters -
Students at Sharif University of Technology attend a protest. AP Photo -
Police outside Sharif University during a student protest. AP Photo -
Students at the university protest over the death of Amini, who was in 'morality police' custody for allegedly breaking strict rules on head coverings for women. AP Photo -
The students' banner says: 'No to mandatory hijab'. AP Photo
Violence has erupted around some of the protests as security forces have clamped down on dissent. Some recent attacks have also blamed on separatists and religious extremists, including a shooting at a major Shiite shrine last month that killed over a dozen people and was claimed by ISIS.
The demonstrations began after the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in morality police custody on September 16. They have escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran’s ruling clerics and an end to the theocracy established after the 1979 revolution.
The violence in Izeh took place on the second day of a three-day general strike called by the protesters. The strike commemorates an earlier round of nationwide protests in 2019 in which hundreds of demonstrators were killed.
At least 362 people have been killed and 16,033 arrested in the latest wave of protests, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitoring the unrest. Rights groups accuse security forces of firing live ammunition and bird shot at demonstrators, and of beating them with batons.
Iran’s Revolutionary Court, which tries security cases, issued a preliminary verdict sentencing three protesters to death in the capital, Tehran, earlier on Wednesday, state media reported. It brings the number of death sentences to four since the latest protests began. None have been carried out.
Mizan, a news website linked to Iran’s judiciary, said one person was convicted of ramming a vehicle into police, killing one and wounding others. It said another attacked security forces with a knife and set fire to a government building. The third was found guilty of blocking a street and leading a violent demonstration. Mizan said the verdicts can be appealed.
AP contributed to this report
