Five people die in unrest in Iran city - Press TV

Mon Jun 1, 2009 8:45am EDT

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TEHRAN, June 1 (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and dozens wounded during unrest in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan following a mosque bombing that killed 25 people there last week, Iran's Press TV reported on Monday.

Press TV said the five people died in an arson attack on a building belonging to a subsidiary of Iran's Mehr Financial and Credit Institute in Zahedan, where many of Iran's minority Sunnis live.

It said a group of Sunnis took to the streets on Sunday, partly in response to rumours that a senior Sunni cleric had been assassinated, "prompting rogue elements to attack and vandalize a number of public places".

"Dozens of civilians were reportedly wounded in the clashes," Press TV said on its website.

A senior police official was earlier quoted by the Mehr News Agency as saying a number of people trying to sow discord between Shi'ites and Sunnis had been arrested in Zahedan and that "order and security" had been restored.

The violence took place less than two weeks before the Islamic Republic holds a presidential election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces a challenge from reformers.




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