A hand-made bomb exploded after evening prayers Saturday at a mosque in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, and Iran's state-run television reported nine dead and 105 wounded.
The blast and subsequent fire happened about 6 p.m. in the men's section of the mosque while a cleric was addressing the worshippers, according to the Fars news agency.
The sermon denounced Bahai and Wahabi faiths, both of which are considered heresies by some Shiites.
The explosion blew out windows in several nearby houses, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Buildings shook more than half a mile away, The Associated Press reported, citing local media accounts.
No one claimed immediate responsibility for the blast.
Bombings are unusual in though the predominantly Shiite Muslim country has endured sporadic attacks in recent years.
The last major bombing occurred in February 2007, when a car bomb blew up near a bus carrying members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Corps, leaving a dozen dead and injuring dozens more in the southeastern part of the country.
Shiraz, a city of more than 1 million people in central Iran, is well known for being home to many scholars, artists and poets and for its local craftsmanship of rugs and metalwork. It is about 400 miles south of Iran's capital, Tehra
The blast and subsequent fire happened about 6 p.m. in the men's section of the mosque while a cleric was addressing the worshippers, according to the Fars news agency.
The sermon denounced Bahai and Wahabi faiths, both of which are considered heresies by some Shiites.
The explosion blew out windows in several nearby houses, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Buildings shook more than half a mile away, The Associated Press reported, citing local media accounts.
No one claimed immediate responsibility for the blast.
Bombings are unusual in though the predominantly Shiite Muslim country has endured sporadic attacks in recent years.
The last major bombing occurred in February 2007, when a car bomb blew up near a bus carrying members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Corps, leaving a dozen dead and injuring dozens more in the southeastern part of the country.
Shiraz, a city of more than 1 million people in central Iran, is well known for being home to many scholars, artists and poets and for its local craftsmanship of rugs and metalwork. It is about 400 miles south of Iran's capital, Tehra


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