‘I had gasoline to set worshipers on fire’: Perpetrators stand trial over Shah Cheragh terrorist attack
Iran has held the first trial session for the three perpetrators of last month’s deadly terrorist attack on the Shah Cheragh shrine in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz.
During the hearing on Sunday, the representative of Fars Province’s General and Revolutionary Prosecutor accused the prime suspect, Rahmatollah Nowruzof from Tajikistan, of waging war on God, corruption on earth, and membership in the Daesh terrorist group with the intention of acting against Iran’s security.
He also accused the two other suspects of abetting the commission of the aforesaid crimes, calling for a severe punishment.
On August 13, Nowruzof, nicknamed Aslamyar, went on a shooting spree in the Shah Cheragh shrine, killing two and injuring seven people. He carried an assault rifle and eight magazines with 240 bullets, 11 of which he managed to get off before being arrested.
The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the terrorist assault.
Speaking during the trial, Nowruzof said that he had joined Daesh through a foreign messaging application and was recommended to travel to Turkey.
The terrorist added that from Turkey, he had illegally entered Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, saying the latter was the place where he received military training.
He said that after re-entry to Iran, he had lived for almost a month at a home near Shah Cheragh shrine, reconnected with Daesh, and took delivery of weapons.
“I did not count the number of the people targeted, but I intended to continue the operation until the last bullet in the magazine,” the terrorist further said.
He said that he had been ordered to get two containers of gasoline, however, he had entered the holy shrine with one gasoline container in his backpack and was arrested before he could torch the carpets where the worshipers were.
