An Iranian flag waving on March 1, 2021 in Vienna. (Credit: Joe Klamar/ AFP)
DUBAI — The cleric of a Shiite mosque in the mostly Sunni flashpoint Iranian city of Zahedan has been shot dead, the official news agency IRNA reported Thursday evening.
"A special task force has been formed for the purpose of identifying and arresting the perpetrators," said police commander of Sistan-Baluchistan province, Ahmad Taheri.
IRNA named the dead cleric as Sajjad Shahraki.
Zahedan was the scene of one of the deadliest days of protests that spread across the country after a woman died in police custody. Amnesty International said security forces killed at least 66 people in a crackdown there on Sept. 30. Authorities in Zahedan fired the police chief and the head of a police station after the incident.
The deaths in Zahedan were widely criticized, including by a top Sunni cleric who said senior officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were responsible "before God."
Zahedan, close to Iran's southeastern border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to a Baluch minority of up to 2 million people who have faced discrimination and repression for decades, according to human rights groups.
The Sistan-Baluchistan region is one of the country's poorest. It is a hotbed of tension where Iranian security forces have been attacked by Baluch militants.
Reporting contributed by Dubai Newsroom.