5 officers killed in overnight Sufi protests in Iran

TEHRAN: Iranian police said yesterday the number of security officers killed in overnight protests by a Sufi sect had risen to five, with around 300 people arrested, reports AFP.

The demonstrations by the Gonabadi Sufi order, known as dervishes, turned into running clashes with the police in northern Tehran on Monday. Footage on state television showed a bus ploughing into a group of policemen in northern Tehran, which police said led to three deaths.

On Tuesday, police spokesman Saeed Montazer Almehdi said two members of the hardline Basij militia, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guards, were also killed. “Two of our dear Basijis were martyred by the superstitious cult,” he told the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Montazer Almehdi said “more than 300” people had been arrested, including the driver of the bus.

 

5 officers killed in overnight Sufi protests in Iran

TEHRAN: Iranian police said yesterday the number of security officers killed in overnight protests by a Sufi sect had risen to five, with around 300 people arrested, reports AFP. The demonstrations by the Gonabadi Sufi order, known as dervishes, turned into running clashes with the police in northern Tehran on Monday. Footage on state television showed a bus ploughing into a group of policemen in northern Tehran, which police said led to three deaths. On Tuesday, police spokesman Saeed Montazer Almehdi said two members of the hardline Basij militia, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guards, were also killed. Two of our dear Basijis were martyred by the superstitious cult, he told the semi-official ISNA news agency. Montazer Almehdi said more than 300 people had been arrested, including the driver of the bus.